Martin Roberts, 56, uploaded a shocking video in view of his 11,000 Instagram followers today which was captioned: “Not been a good week, all in all.” In the clip, the Homes Under The Hammer star could be seen with puffy red eyes which were streaming as he said: “This is a really important warning. It’s 3.30 in the morning and I’m in A&E.
“I was just doing some gardening earlier on and there’s a plant called Euphormia,” he told fans. “You need to look it up on the internet because its in lots of people’s gardens.”
Martin went on to say he had come into contact with the plant’s toxic sap and was consequently suffering severe stinging in his eyes.
“When you cut it as I did it produces a sap – a white sap – and if you get that on your hands, or worse if you get it on your eyes, then it causes some serious issues,” he said.
“It will start stinging. It’s got worse and worse and worse as the evening’s gone on so I couldn’t sleep and now I’m waiting to see a doctor.”
The longtime Homes Under The Hammer presenter described the hazardous plant for his fans, saying it doesn’t have blooms but has “yellowy green leaves that look like flowers”.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the “milky sap” of the Eurphorbia plant is “highly toxic and an irritant to the skin and eye”.
Initial symptoms in with accidental ocular exposure are “severe burning sensation with blurring of vision”.
There are also many varieties of Euphorbia.
The organisation found all symptoms and signs had resolved by 10-14 days with “active supportive medication” and they recommend those handling the plant wear eye protection.
At the weekend, Homes Under The Hammer’s Martin Roberts spoke out on his driving ban appeal after it was dismissed by magistrates.
He was arrested last November after refusing to take a breath test when police suspected him of being over the drink drive limit.
The presenter claimed he tried by failed to complete two blows to the breathalyser machine at the police station but was subsequently found guilty and issued a fine and 23-month driving ban.
On Saturday, Martin appeared at Bristol Crown Court to appeal the conviction and sentence, claiming the test could have been contaminated by this asthma inhaler.
However, the case was dismissed, with recorder Noel Casey retaining the sentence and telling Martin: “We accept the appellant suffers from asthma but not to an extent much greater than many other sufferers.”
The presenter told Bristol Live as he left the court: “This is a bad day for me but it is also a terrible day for asthma sufferers.
“How can it be fait that someone who has this lifelong history of asthma, that declares that asthma to police, is only offered a breathalyser test that involved exhaling effectively and is not offered any alternative way of providing a sample, such as giving blood or urine?”