To celebrate National Tree Week, a programme to plant 160 new trees on the highways in Nottinghamshire got under way.

The scheme, delivered by Via East Midlands for Nottinghamshire County Council, will see more than three times the number of new trees planted than in previous years.

The first phase of the scheme the saw trees planted in Ashfield.

The trees are a range of species including caucasian lime and ornamental cherry trees.

Coun John Cottee, chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Communities and Place Committee, said: “We’re delighted to be planting so many trees on the highway in the county — three times as many as previous years.

“These trees will have a positive impact on our communities, not only providing environmental benefits, but also bringing the beauty of nature to our streets.

“We do everything we can to protect and increase our tree population in line with the council’s environmental priorities and residents’ wishes. We sometimes have to manage trees, which become a potential danger to the public through damage or diseases such as ash die back, but we only remove them as a last resort.

“Many of the trees we’re planting will be replacing those we’ve had to remove or at new sites in the vicinity.”