A BBC Wales News story tells how a deadly fungus is spreading “more quickly and lethally” through the UK’s ash trees than experts had anticipated.
Millions of diseased trees near buildings, roads and railways will have to be cut down.
A recent survey – which split the UK into 10km grid squares – found infections had been confirmed across 80% of Wales, 68% of England, 32% of Northern Ireland and 20% of Scotland.
The Independent reports that from the Thames to the Lake District, Britain’s iconic waterways are full of plastic pollution, according to a new analysis.
In recent years, scientists have found plastic scattered throughout the ocean, as far down as the Mariana Trench and even embedded in Arctic ice. But the new research shows the problem also exists closer to home, with up to 1,000 tiny pieces of plastic found per litre in the worst-polluted rivers.
Photo by Kate Ter Haar under creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
The Guardian reports that a shorter hibernation period may accelerate demise of Britain’s only venomous snake.
The adder, Britain’s only venomous snake, has for the first time been confirmed as being active in every month of the year.
Adders normally hibernate underground from October to March, a strategy designed to enable them to survive a cold winter, but with warmer weather have now been seen throughout the year.
The BBC report that two schoolgirls have criticised a housing developer for the “devastating impact” its use of hedgerow netting is having on wildlife.
Taylor Wimpey attached netting to a hedge lining a 270-home development in Warwickshire to stop birds from nesting but did so before plans were passed.
Kyra Barboutis and Sophie Smith, who run hedgehog rescue centres, said the hibernating animals would be trapped.
Taylor Wimpey said it would now build tunnels enabling them to escape.
