English oaks under threat from infection

The UKs green landscape could be set to change forever, with one of the countrys most iconic trees under threat.

A new infection known as acute oak decline is attacking English oaks and could have a devastating effect if left unchecked.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), scientists first identified the problem more than a decade ago, but had been left baffled as to its cause until recently.

It is now believed that the infection could be down to a bacterium that experts have only just managed to isolate.

The problem can first be identified by dark fluid leaking out through the bark, which occurs before the canopy begins to thin and branches start to die.

In other news, the RHS has revealed that there are a growing number of garden and greenhouse enthusiasts signing up for allotments in Yorkshire.