Sudden oak death ruled out

The notorious “sudden oak death” disease has been ruled out as the cause of a profuse stem-bleeding condition affecting hundreds of oak trees in Leicestershire.

Forestry Commission scientists have instead described the problem affecting trees in Loughborough as “acute oak decline”.

Pathologists from the commission’s Forest Research agency discovered bacteria from three different groups in samples taken from affected trees and further tests are now being carried out in a bid to identify the bacteria responsible for the symptoms.

All affected oaks have displayed the same symptoms – bleeding cankers and rapid deterioration of health.

The “sudden oak death” disease is also known as phytophthora ramorum and has killed more than a million American native oak trees in forests in California and Oregon.