A NEW call for action to control a lethal weed, which claims the lives of ponies, has been made in the New Forest.

Colonel Peter Sweet told a meeting of the New Forest Committee at Lyndhurst, that the year 2000 was the worst ever in terms of the amount of ragwort growing in the Forest.

He also recalled that he had alerted the authorities in June about the weed getting out of control in one area of the Forest, and again in September, because of the amount of ragwort alongside the A338 which runs through the Forest from Cadnam to New Milton.

"This obnoxious yellow weed was everywhere, but nothing has happened," he said.

He was told by committee chairman Ted Johnson: "What has happened in the last year is in the past.

"But I am hoping that all those who have a responsibility for dealing with this weed will take that into account when they prepare their programmes for the coming year.

"But it is unfair to say nothing has happened. We have alerted these agencies to our concerns and I hope they will bear that very much in mind."

His "nothing has happened" claim was also strongly disputed by the Forestry Commission.

Its New Forest recreation manager Mike Seddon said: "We sent teams out to pull ragwort, and we must have spent in excess of £6,000. We tried to cover all the ragwort hot spots on the Crown lands of the Forest."

Ragwort is poisonous to horses and has been blamed for the deaths of a number of animals in the New Forest.

The concerns were shared by Official Verderer Maldwin Drummond, who said: "It has been the worst ragwort season for some time."