AN appeal to halt the destruction of nearly 500,000 young oak trees has been successful.

Maelor Forest Nurseries, based near Wrexham, was left with hundreds of thousands of seedlings after an expected surge in demand, following the UK Government’s tree-planting pledge, failed to materialise.

After The Times reported on the plan, a number of charities, community groups and individuals got in touch with Maelor to ask if they could help.

The nursery discounted the price per tree from 35–40p to 20p and sold nearly all of the 500,000 that would have otherwise been destroyed.

READ MORE: Charity raising funds for woodland creation

Mike Harvey, Maelor’s founder and former managing director, said: “Thanks largely to the article in The Times, only a small percentage had to be mulched.

“We are delighted that these oak saplings have found good homes. We were devastated at the prospect of having to destroy plants which we had spent two years growing and nurturing, only to find they ultimately were being left without a future for reasons beyond our control.”

The largest order, for 30,000 oaks, came from Extinction Rebellion Rewilding, an offshoot of the climate campaign group.

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