I have no ide what they are but I will be interested to see what the others say...those with a bit more gardening knowledge than me.

I would say that they look suspiciously like the first growths of Mare Tail, Equisetum. If so then you are in for a time and a half removing it.

Ouch, Horsetail all right. To be fair if it is just lawn then mowing it close every week will weaken it and then apply a weedkiller.

I agree mares tail, but at the fruiting spore stage , cut them down a s a p, before they spread any more spores, and if the soil is acid, try liming it, Derek.

It's not the mares tail I'm used to calling mares tail .

I think there must be more than one type because my mares tail never looks like that.

Try google imaging mares tail and you'll see what I mean

Welcome to Goy Mc. I think its horsetail, commonly misnamed as Mares tail, which is an unrelated and a water loving plant. The following link says "It has been suggested that the pattern of spacing of nodes in horsetails, wherein those toward the apex of the shoot are increasingly close together, inspired John Napier to discover logarithms.[4]" so its not completely a waste of space".

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Horsetail?qsrc=3044

thanks sounds like im for some fun getting rid of these :(

Here's something I produced on eradicating mares tail/horsetail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31559373@N00/4757456972/