Olly wrote
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!

Well, if you do want to remove them mechanically, don't use a fork.
You can buy special thin devices with a V-shaped notch in the end,
similar to an agricultural "docking iron" [1]

My Dad used to use a french bayonet that his great-grandfather brought
back from Waterloo. That did the job superbly, but I have no idea
what happened to it after he moved.




[1] There's a wholly different thing also called a "docking iron".
It's not one of those.