Park trees to be felled in fight against ash dieback spread

Experts believe ash dieback will kill a large number of trees across the UK

Trees infected with ash dieback will be removed from a council's parks in a bid to halt the spread of the disease.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) said individual trees would be removed and there would be no mass felling operation.

The Woodland Trust believes the disease will result in the loss of a large proportion of the UK's ash trees.

The council said the operation would improve the environment for local wildlife.

Ash dieback is a fungus that grows on leaves on the ground and produces small white mushroom-like growths.

The growths release spores which can travel for many miles and affect the water transport system of trees, eventually stopping the flow of water and killing the trees.

Infected trees will be removed from Irchester and East Carlton country parks, the council said

NNC said the priority would be removing infected trees that were close to footpaths, roads and houses and posed a high health and safety risk in King's Wood Local Nature Reserve, Irchester Country Park and East Carlton Countryside Park.

The authority added that felling the trees would allow more sunlight to get through to the ground, encouraging new flowers and vegetation to grow to support butterflies and other invertebrates.

'Very regrettable'

NNC said diseased timber was not a threat to other species so it would be cut into pieces and stacked to create log piles which would offer homes to newts, invertebrates and small mammals.

Councillor Harriet Pentland, the council's executive member for Climate and Green Environment, said: "It is very regrettable that we are in a situation where we have to remove mature trees.

"This is a national problem, faced by councils and landowners across the country and something we must tackle to protect our wider tree population and for the safety of residents and nearby infrastructure."

NNC insisted that all guidance from the relevant official bodies would be followed.

The work is due to start next month.