Hundreds of dead and dying trees bordering a busy road at the top of Cheddar Gorge have been cleared by Somerset County Council's Highways Team and partner agencies.

The operation on the B3135 Plummer's Lane near Cheddar targeted 250 trees affected by ash dieback, a fungus that will kill or seriously effect more than 95 per cent of our ash trees.

Dead and diseased trees growing adjacent to roads can potentially fall into the carriageway, so must be removed.

The road reopened today (Friday, March 5) after being closed for nearly a month while the work was carried out by the county council.

The council says an ecological assessment was undertaken prior to the works and all necessary steps were taken to prevent disturbance to the remaining habitat.

Thousands of trees have been felled across the county over the last 12 months – including recently at Bristol Hill near Wells.

"As the highways authority, doing nothing is simply not an option – we have to act swiftly to remove diseased trees from the roadside," said Cllr John Woodman, Somerset County Council's Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

"The loss of this beautiful woodland in our county is a real blow but we have to put the safety of the public and road users first – this is a national problem affecting local authorities across the UK."