Landowners and farmers are being invited to register for their free tree pack in a bid to help the county council plant 700,000 trees – a tree for every person in Leicestershire

Landowners and farmers are being invited to register for their free tree pack in a bid to help the county council plant 700,000 trees – a tree for every person in Leicestershire.

Each pack includes 45 native trees - 15 each of oak, crab apple and hazel.

Harborough and Leicestershire as a whole are two of the least-wooded areas of the country.

They have only six per cent woodland – well below the national average of 10 per cent.

Now Leicestershire County Council literally aims to get to the root of the problem.

The authority’s new initiative is setting out to help renew and restore existing tree cover - as well as regenerate countryside under threat from diseases such as Ash Dieback.

Cllr Blake Pain, the council’s Cabinet member for the Environment and Green Agenda, said: "We’re delighted to be working with the Woodland Trust to provide free trees and hedgerows to farmers and landowners across Leicestershire.

"As part of our commitment to becoming a net-zero county by 2045, trees have an important role to play in keeping our air clean, helping to prevent flooding and providing valuable habitats for local wildlife.”

To register for your free trees pack, please visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/LeicsTrees

You can also call on 0330 333 5303 – just make sure you quote Leicestershire County Council trees.

If you are a member of a community group, parish council or school you can also apply for your trees at www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/freetrees