Humber Forest scheme sees more than 150,000 trees planted

The Northern Forest will see 50m trees planted between Hull and Liverpool over 25 years

More than 150,000 trees have been planted in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire over the last 18 months.

The Humber Forest scheme is part of the Northern Forest initiative, which aims to plant 50m trees between Hull and Liverpool by 2043.

Andy Mason from Humber Forest said the group aimed to plant another 200,000 trees locally over the next year.

The Woodland Trust said that the region had just 2.6% tree cover, compared with the UK average of 13%.

Mr Mason said that the "best time to plant a tree is yesterday".

"Because they will take a long time to mature and that's what we want to create for future generations," he said.

"Put these in now and people a long way down the line will enjoy them."

Organisers of the government-backed Northern Forest scheme, which began in 2018, said that the 50m tree woodland would "reduce the risk of flooding for up to 190,000 people, create thousands of new jobs and store thousands of tonnes of carbon".

The Humber Forest team plans to plant 200,000 trees over the next year

The Humber Forest works with public and private landowners, who can get saplings for free, and also runs school projects.

Charlotte Dean from Rewilding Youth said the project was about "engaging young people in planting the trees".

"Teaching them all about trees, the different varieties, how to look after them, how to care for them," she said.

"It really will leave a legacy for those young people - as they grow older they'll see the trees grow with them."