To mark the end of National Tree Week (December 5) the government announced a £3.9 million to fund innovative tree planting schemes which will see hundreds of thousands of new trees planted, including in towns and cities and near rivers to reduce flood risk.

Community nurseries, agroforestry and hedgerow management schemes are being supported by a £2.5 million fund from the Treasury and a further £1.4 million has been awarded to the Environment Agency to fund 'woodlands for water' – 15 projects to plant over 850,000 trees that will protect around 160km of river and help to reduce the risk of flooding to over 500 properties.

Also in celebration of this year's National Tree Week, the government announced £12 million of new funding from the Nature For Climate Fund for Community Forests to plant over 500 hectares of trees.

The two closest community forests to Frome are one in Bristol, the other, the Great Western Community Forest, which is close to Swindon.

The planting scheme are expected to be carried out over the next five months.

The government estimate is that the trees will eventually store over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The current government has committed to increasing tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by 2025.