Start of spring 'earliest this century'

SPRING was a record breaker for wildlife, with the warm weather leading to trees leafing and flowering and birds and insects appearing unusually early, data has shown.

The latest results from Nature's Calendar, run by the Woodland Trust, in which members of the public record the timing of natural events, suggest spring was the earliest this century.

A host of events occurred much earlier than normal, with holly blue butterflies emerging 26 days early, compared to 2001 and ash and beech trees leafing two-and-a-half weeks early.