APOISONOUS plant left burnlike injuries on a four-year-old girl.

The toxic giant hogweed, which can cause blindness, stung Amy-Louise Roberts while she was out walking with her parents.

They were on a path by the banks of the Mersey near the RSPCAin Slutchers Lane.

She only noticed a slight irritation at the time but two days later the stings came out.

"It looked terrible, long streaks of blisters. It looked like burns," said her mum, Karen, a civil servant from the Briarswood Estate in Great Sankey.

"She was upset because people were asking her what happened to her leg."

The marks and irritations are still visible now even though Amy- Louise was stung in June.

Karen saidWarrington Borough Council had cleared back plants from the pathway but they were still visible at the back of the bushes.

It is illegal to plant or grow giant hogweed as it can inflict black or purplish scars than can last for years, and can even cause blindness.

The plants can grow to around 10ft tall and has white flowers that sprout at the top.

Their stems have purple and red hairs that contain the toxic sap.