Hundreds of diseased larch trees to be felled in Lancashire
The trees have an incurable water mould disease
Hundreds of larch trees in Lancashire are set to be cut down due to an incurable tree disease.
The trees near Whitworth and Bacup have been infected with Ramorum disease, an incurable type of water mould, which kills them.
They'll be removed over the space of around 14 weeks starting this month (February).
New trees - including birch, holly, mountain ash and oak - will be planted to replace the larches during the next tree planting season.
Lancashire County Council managed to get a grant of £172,000 from the Forestry Commission to help pay for the felling and the cost of replanting.
"It's vital that we help to prevent the spread of Ramorum disease"
Councillor Joshua Roberts said: "It is sad for us to lose the larches as they were beautiful and well-loved, but we need to take these down before new spores are able to start to spread again in the summer.
"It's vital that we help to prevent the spread of Ramorum disease to other parts of the country by removing them.
"This also paves the way for us to be able to re-forest the area. The joy of the re-planting scheme is that we can plant a diverse mix of trees, making the forest more resilient to disease, providing a more appropriate habitat for wildlife and sitting better in the landscape than the larches."