 Many oak trees in the wood are infected |
Dozens of trees at a wood in Leicestershire are dying from a rare disease, forestry experts have said. About 200 trees at four-acre Booth Wood near Loughborough - mostly oak trees - are infected by the disease and are leaking a dark liquid.
Experts said the infection looks like an incurable disease called sudden oak death, which does not usually infect English varieties.
Samples are being sent to the Forestry Commission for further analysis.
Pretty drastic
Mark Graham, Charnwood Borough Council's wildlife officer, said there was no risk for humans.
He said: "The majority of oak trees in the wood are now displaying signs of this infection and we are waiting for the spring to see how many come into leaf.
"It is a fungal-like pathogen and if it was to kill all the oaks it would be pretty drastic.
"Oaks are very important for wildlife as they support more insects, plants and other forms of life than any other type of tree."
Booth Wood, which was once part of the Garendon Estate, has been owned by Charnwood Borough Council since the 1970s.
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