Saplings grown from Hiroshima bomb 'survivor tree'

June Saddington and Rachel Benskin from the botanic garden team, with university vice-chancellor Prof Nishan Canagarajah and mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby

Seeds from a tree which survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima have taken root in Leicester ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan (VJ) Day.

The seeds were gifted to Leicester by the Mayors for Peace organisation, which worked with Japanese cities to distribute seeds from survivor trees.

They were then planted by the University of Leicester's botanic gardens team and six have now germinated.

Once the saplings are hardy, one will be planted in the botanic garden in Glebe Road, Oadby, while the remaining trees would be offered to community organisations and schools across the city, the university said.

The seeds were harvested from a ginkgo tree, which stands in the Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima.

VJ Day marks Japan's surrender to the Allies in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which effectively ended World War Two.

The bombs killed more than 200,000 people - some from the immediate blast and others from radiation sickness and burns.

The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "In Japan, the trees that miraculously survived the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called 'hibaku' – or survivor trees.

"The fact that green shoots and new life could emerge from such devastation is an extraordinary symbol of hope."

Prof Nishan Canagarajah, vice-chancellor at the University of Leicester, said the university was "honoured and humbled" to have been chosen to nurture the seeds.

"I hope the saplings will grow strong and tall, and serve as living memorials to the people who lost their lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he added.