Tree lovers on the alert

AVID ramblers are being urged to look out for trees affected by pests and diseases in West Lothian woodlands.

Environmental charity Central Scotland Forest Trust (CSFT) claims trees are facing unprecedented threats which are believed to have balloned as a result of globalised trade in plants and, to a lesser extent, climate change.

Simon Rennie, chief executive at CSFT, said: “We are asking locals to keep an eye out for two plant diseases in particular; ramorum disease of larch and rhododendron, and phytophthora lateralis in Lawson cypress trees.”