Sean Fletcher shown how leeches are fed

Sean Fletcher hosted a special medicinal episode of Countryfile which saw him learn about how leeches and maggots were being used by the NHS to help treat patients. However, many BBC viewers couldn’t watch the episode as leeches were shown sucking pig’s blood from a membrane and maggots were placed on one patient’s foot.

Sean reported: “Just outside of village of Hendy in South Wales, I’m helping Carl on his farm with his blood-sucking livestock.”

Live from the farm, he continued: “We’ve already exercised the residents, now it’s feeding time.

“Leeches in the wild can go over a year without eating but on the farm, these leeches destined for medicinal usage have a feeding schedule to maintain and today, we’re giving them a treat.”

Carl explained: “A small fresh black pudding with some liquid pigs blood. We’re going to put it in and they’re going to attach to start the feeding.”

Sean admitted he could smell the food they were about to drop into the tank of leeches with Carl noting it smelled like black pudding.

“It smells like breakfast to me already,” he explained.

Carl then set about prepping the pig’s blood which would be placed in a synthetic tube to replicate human skin.

“We used to use natural skin but it’s a bit wibbly wobbly so the collagen stuff is really good,” Carl said.

“This is like a membrane they can feed through.”

Carl went on to explain leeches would start by feeding off frogs before moving onto small mammals like water voles in the wild.

BBC viewers then saw a variety of leeches which can be found in the wild and can attach to prey for 30-60 minutes.

As soon as the blood was placed into the tank, the leeches began to attach and feed from the membrane.

Carl explained the medicinal uses for the leeches, listing: “When using them medically, they are trying to keep the blood flowing.

“So say for a finger or skin graft they’d use one or two leeches. They’d put one on and wrangle them into the area and the leech would sit in one spot and feed for 20 minutes.”

“Why are they so good at that?” Sean asked, with Carl adding: “The leech is really designed to take blood efficiently and painless.

“They have three jaws in a Y shape and have about 125 teeth in each jaw and they saw their way in, they inject a very powerful anticoagulant called hirudin. It’s more powerful than sort of warfarin or heparin, so that each will take sort of five, seven times its body weight in blood, which is about a teaspoon.

“And then, once the leech drops off after about 20 minutes, the bleeding will continue for anywhere up to about 10 hours, where you lose about another 50ml but the blood is flowing in and seeping out.”

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Carl added the work of the leeches helps being to repair and keep the area alive.

Despite hearing just how helpful leeches could be, watching them suck blood from the membrane was too much for viewers who couldn’t watch the segment.

Taking to Twitter, @antrojak posted: “Don’t think I can watch this. I don’t like things without legs #Countryfile.”

@AmandaTBurt tweeted: “Perhaps #Countryfile isn’t the programme to watch whilst eating a Sunday meal.”

@HJMKent shared: “I can think of more appealing programmes to watch at Sunday teatime than one on leeches, interesting though it is! #countryfile.”

@drummergirl2000 continued: “This is making me gip. I might skip tea #Countryfile.”

@LumpyPete simply posted: “F**ks sake #countryfile I’m trying to eat!”

If that wasn’t bad enough, Countryfile later issued a warning to “squeamish” viewers before maggots were placed on a wound to help fight an infection on a patient’s foot.

@CushionLady tweeted: “Well, I watch quite a few gruesome things on TV, but I was literally heaving over those maggots #Countryfile I could never, ever, let them near me!”

@NFGmart added: “Ok leeches, open wounds and now maggots?? Seriously #countryfile.”

Countryfile airs Sunday on BBC One at 6pm.

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