THE Forestry Commission says the coldest winter in 30 years has set back the tree planting programme in the Forest of Dean by at least three weeks.

But it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Spokesperson Heather Lilly says she has been talking with Ben Lennon, the man in charge of the programme, and it looks as though the weeds have been hit just as hard.

"The upshot is we might get away without having to do our first weeding," she said.

Across the border in Wales Forestry Commission tree planters are racing against the clock to complete their mission.

Even when staff have been able to access the planting areas, the ground has been frozen and unsuitable to plant trees.

Now it's all hands on deck as Forestry Commission Wales staff, planting contractors and apprentices attempt to plant three million trees.

Steve Mather, area operations manager, said: "This has been the most challenging planting season I can remember. The very low temperatures and spells of snow mean that we have to carry on planting into April this year."