Killer tree disease hits West Berkshire

Feared Ash Dieback Disease found in Tidmarsh woodland

THE first known case of the feared ash tree disease Chalara dieback has been confirmed in a West Berkshire woodland.

Chalara dieback – also known as ash dieback disease – has already infected around 90 per cent of the species in Denmark and experts fear that it could have an equally devastating effect in Britain.

The number of British woods suffering from the disease has almost tripled in two years and more than 1,000 sites across the UK have now been affected by the disease, which was first detected in 2012.

This week it was confirmed that one ash tree at the Moor Copse Nature Reserve in Tidmarsh has been infected by the airborne disease.

It is believed to be the first time an infected tree has been discovered in West Berkshire.

Symptoms of the fungal disease can be visible on leaves, shoots and branches of affected trees and include brown leaves, lesions, dark wood and fungi.

The airborne disease is spread by spores from the fruiting bodies of the fungus produced on fallen ash leaves.

These airborne spores can disperse naturally via wind or spread via clothing, footwear or vehicles.

The Woodland Trust says this makes the disease ‘very difficult to contain’.

Moor Copse Nature Reserve is owned by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT).

A spokeperson for BBOWT, Wendy Tobitt, confirmed that one ash tree at the site was affected by the disease – but advised people not to let it stop them using the reserve.

She added: “Ash dieback is an airborne disease and there is absolutely no reason to close the site or for anyone not to visit it.”

Newbury MP Richard Benyon, himself a former DEFRA minister, tweeted: “Sad to hear that Ash Dieback disease has reached West Berkshire. Will change our landscape.”