A tree-mendous world record bid

ALMOST 2,000 trees were planted in one hour as the city sought to help break the world record for trees planted in that time.

To help celebrate National Tree Week, BBC Breathing Places teamed up with Guinness World Records for Tree O'Clock — a nationwide challenge to plant as many trees as possible within a single hour.

Currently the world record stands at 653,143.

Residents from Alphington and the surrounding areas got stuck in and planted 1,657 trees at the Alphington New Woodland site.

Local councillor Vanessa Newcombe said: "The council were planning on planting trees at the site anyway to promote bio-diversity and to provide a screen from the A30. They thought it would be a really good idea to combine the Tree O'Clock event with the existing plans.

"We had a really good turnout on Saturday — people of all ages came to help. "

Woodburing stove manufacturer Stovax also joined in Tree O'Clock by giving each member of their 400 strong staff at their Sowton Industrial Estate base an ash tree to plant in their garden.

They were asked to submit a digital photograph of themselves planting their tree, taken between 11am and noon on Saturday.

The pictures will be sent to Guinness to help judges decide whether a new record has been set or not.