With the help of Liverpool law firm High Street Solicitors, four homeowners have won £42,500 in damages after Japanese Knotweed was found on their properties

Liverpool-based lawyers have won £42,500 in damages from Network Rail on behalf on four homeowners in a legal battle over Japanese Knotweed.

All four homeowners live on Cwmamman Road in Ammanford in Wales. They claimed the plant had encroached onto their properties. Japanese Knotweed is infamous for causing structural damage and expanding into and breaking drainage pipes.

With the help of Liverpool-based law firm, High Street Solicitors, they successfully sued Network Rail Infrastructure and won a combined total of £42,500 in damages. As part of the claims process, High Street Solicitors arranged for the infestation to be assessed.

The knotweed was said to have been present on the properties for around a decade, growing to its current 2-2.5m in height which had caused major concern among the property owners.

The plant is most commonly found near railway locations as it was traditionally used to support railway embankments and its surrounding. If it has grown up to a metre onto a property or piece of land, owners are entitled to make a claim.

Having noticed the Japanese Knotweed plant growing initially around five years ago and then moving closer and closer to their properties, the homeowners reached out to Network Rail Infrastructure but they claim the wasn’t responsive.

Joann Cameron, litigation executive, at High Street Solicitors, said: “Japanese Knotweed can cause damage to a property dependent upon how severe it is. If you have Japanese Knotweed on your land this would cause an immediate diminution of value of your property and become apparent when and if you decide to sell the same.

“It is extremely important that the Japanese Knotweed is eradicated and treated professionally, ensuring that you obtain a 10-year back guarantee when treatment has been carried out.”