THOUSANDS of trees planted in a North Yorkshire ravine to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will have to be replanted later this year after a council worker accidentally chopped them down.
Bilton Conservation Group spent 200 hours planting 2,000 saplings at Nidd Gorge, near Knaresborough, to create a Diamond Jubilee Wood. but discovered only two oak trees still standing when they paid the land a visit. It has emerged that a Harrogate Borough Council lawnmower contractor had made the mistake, with the group’s chairman Keith Wilkinson saying the workman had “turned left instead of right”.
The council has apologised for the error, saying it happened because the saplings had not been correctly identified and it would review procedures to avoid a repeat in the future. A spokeswoman said all the saplings would be replaced in November and December, the normal tree-planting season.
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