A plague of plant-eating caterpillars from the Far East is destroying hedges in Haydon Park Road, Wimbledon.

Eagle-eyed gardeners say they have spotted the grub on box plants the whole length of the road. The caterpillars spins webs around leaves and twigs to hide themselves.

One resident says they pulled as many as 50 of the bugs from bushes in their garden.

She said: "This is serious. If you don’t take action, the plants will be stripped and will die.”

Wimbledon Times:
The effect of the caterpillars on box plants in Haydon Park Road

The caterpillar is the larva of a moth. The moths lay sheets of eggs on the underside of leaves and once hatched, the larvae chomp through the plant. The caterpillars are light green with black stripes with white dots and can be removed by hand or by using a pesticide.

The Royal Horticultural Society named box tree caterpillars as their number one pest last year.

They were first reported in UK gardens in 2011 and may have been brought over accidentally on box plants imported from East Asia.