PEOPLE will be able to find out about the medical benefits of maggots at a health trust open evening.

The bugs play a crucial role in the innovative work of biosurgery and are used at Harrogate District Hospital to remove unhealthy tissue from wounds.

Nurse Ann Cobb said: "The technique works by introducing sterile maggots of the green bottle fly into wounds.

"This form of treatment has been used for centuries, but has been reintroduced into modern medicine as doctors have discovered that maggots are able to cleanse wounds more rapidly than conventional dressings.

"An added bonus is the ability of the maggots to eliminate infection from wounds.

"When the proposal to use maggots on a wound is first discussed with a patient, after any initial reservations, they are usually in full agreement, often having heard of maggot therapy through the media or on the Internet."

Ms Cobb, and the maggots, will be at the tissue viability stand at tonight's Harrogate Health Care NHS Trust's open evening.

It is being held from 7pm at St Aidan's High School, in Oatland's Drive, Harrogate.