SAVE OUR CONKERS! SAYS MP

4.59.22pm GMT Thu 13th Nov 2008

Somerton and Frome MP David Heath has called for action to save a staple of the landscape and the countryside, the British conker tree.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, Mr Heath told MPs that the horse chestnut is under severe threat, with attacks from the Phytophthora fungus, the Tree Leaf Miner caterpillar, and most worryingly from a new aggressive disease known as Pseudomonas syringae or Bleeding Canker.

Some estimates suggest that anything between 50% and 75% of trees are infected, and the situation is worst in the south west and south east of England.

David said:

"The horse Chestnut is a beautiful part of our landscape, but the threat from these diseases is severe and a great many trees are dying. We all remember what a difference it made to our countryside when Dutch Elm Disease ravaged the elm population, and we're seeing that repeated now with horse chestnuts.

I want to make sure that any action that can be taken to contain or reverse the spread of this disease is being taken. It may seem trivial compared with some of the problems we face, but our environment is important too, and I don't want a generation of children to grow up without ever seeing a conker!"