Millions of lettuces ruined by UK aphid outbreak

Image source, Getty Images By Caitlin Doherty BBC News Published 3 hours ago Millions of lettuces are set to be wasted as farmers are grappling with a record outbreak of aphids that has devastated the end of their growing season.

Growers are facing losses of £10m, as 30 million heads of lettuce will be rendered unusable, according to the British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA).

The organisation says that warm and dry weather has produced "ideal conditions" for the bugs, with as much as 30% of the UK crop between now and the end of October set to be wasted.

Homegrown lettuce dominates the market in the summer and early autumn weeks before a transition that sees more imports filling shop shelves.

But imported lettuces are now likely to be on the shelves in the UK a couple of weeks earlier than usual.