Dutch Elm disease: Brighton council fells 50 trees to save others

Up to 50 elm trees infected with Dutch elm disease are being felled.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the work is necessary to prevent the disease spreading to other trees in a wood.

The work is being carried out over five days in Coldean Woods, around a site planned for a low cost housing development.

The council said 200 new trees, including elm and ash, will be planted once building is completed.

Amy Heley, chairwoman of the council's environment committee, said: "We've lost a number of important elms to elm disease over recent years and to lose this many in one go is terrible".

Dutch elm disease is spread by a beetle, and can also be passed by root contact between trees.

The council said an increase in the use of wood burning stoves could have lead to infected logs being brought in from other parts of Sussex.

Brighton and Hove has 17,000 elms. Many were planted during the Victorian and Edwardian periods because the trees can tolerate thin chalk soil and salty winds.

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