Diseased trees to be felled over safety concerns

Trees affected by ash dieback disease are set to be felled over concerns they could fall on to public footpaths.

Reading Borough Council said more than 100 trees at Clayfield Copse nature reserve near Caversham were likely to be affected.

It said the trees could "fall with very little warning" and said walkers should use the area with care and keep dogs on leads.

The fungal disease can significantly weaken ash trees - branches become brittle and it will eventually kill the tree.

Senior arboriculture officer at the council, Dan Johnson, said the trees would be inspected for bat roosts.

"Where it's safe to do so, we will leave those trees standing as a dead stem," he said.

He said native species such as oaks, hazel, birch and beech trees would be planted in place of the ash trees.

The 20-acre Clayfield Copse was designated Reading's first Local Nature Reserve in 1991.

Karen Rowland, lead councillor for environmental services, said the local authority would only remove trees and branches where people "could be at risk".

She said all the removed trees would be replaced.

"It is very sad to announce this unavoidable work. We will be working hard to ensure the vista of Clayfield Copse is as unchanged as possible," she added.

• Ash dieback is a fungus that originated in Asia and can affect ash trees of all ages.

• Between July and October it produces small white fruiting bodies which release spores that travel tens of miles in the wind, landing on leaves.

• The fungus penetrates the leaf, and then grows inside the tree, eventually blocking the tree's water supply, causing it to die.

• While it does not cause much damage on its native hosts of the Manchurian ash and the Chinese ash, its introduction to Europe about 30 years ago has had severe consequences.

• European ash species did not evolve with the fungus and therefore have no natural defence against it.

Source: The Woodland Trust

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