Landowners and farmers in the Ashby and Leicestershire are being reminded to sign up before the October 31 deadline to a scheme which supplies them with free trees to plant on their land.

Leicestershire County Council is working in partnership with the Woodland Trust to offer the free tree and hedgerow packs in a bid to encourage more tree planting across the county.

Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment and the green agenda, said: "This is a great scheme which helps towards our ambition to plant 700,000 new trees across Leicestershire – one for each resident.

"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.

"I would encourage landowners, farmers and community groups to sign up for this scheme before the deadline, to ensure that they don't miss out.

The free tree giveaway aims to expand and restore existing woodland, create new wooded areas, and increase the number of single trees and hedgerows. This will help to combat the changes to the landscape caused by diseases such as ash dieback.

Each tree pack includes 45 native trees - 15 each of oak, crab apple and hazel. There are also hedgerow packs made up of 250 hedgerow shrubs, including a mix of hawthorn, hazel, blackthorn, field maple, dog rose and oaks.

For larger areas of land, the scheme will also help advise and support the creation of new areas of woodland planting over half a hectare through the MOREwoods scheme.

The tree packs are available to anyone who lives in Leicestershire with suitable areas of land to plant – including community groups, parish councils and schools, as well as landowners and farmers. Eligible applicants are being reminded to register for the free tree and hedgerow packs by the closing date of 31 October. The scheme is not aimed at private residential gardens.

Successful applicants will be able to collect their trees from Beaumanor Hall in Woodhouse Eaves in November 2022 or February 2023.

Last year, the county council gave away just over 30,000 trees from this and other similar schemes – and is hoping to top 50,000 trees this year.

Anyone who would like to apply for a free tree or hedgerow pack can do it online HERE or register by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0330 333 5303, quoting 'Leicestershire County Council trees'.