TIME is running out for communities to involved in a £4m project that aims to see a million trees planted across the UK.

The Government’s Big Tree Plant has already seen more than 239,000 trees planted throughout the country, with 1,000 of them planted at a site on Teesside.

The Ormesby Beck Friendship Group was awarded a grant to plant 1,000 trees as part of a plan to regenerate the beck area and protect it against flooding.

The trees were planted along the beck side early last year with the help of volunteers from the group and pupils from Berwick Hills Primary School. Willow, wild cherry, poplar, pendunculate oak and alder trees are among the species to have taken root at the site.

Local resident and founder of the Ormesby Beck Friendship Group, Patrick Mitchell, said: “As the trees grow they will help form a barrier to any future flood peaks and there are new ponds for flood storage. The trees will also help screen out the hospital which dominates the landscape, so it will give us a more pleasant and greener view from our street.”

Funding of £600,000 is still to be allocated as part of the Big Tree Plant scheme and communities are being encouraged to apply for a share in the hope that towns and cities can be made more attractive places to live and work. Applications for funding should be made by March 15. To apply, visit defra.gov.uk/bigtreeplant/funding/