A vastnew woodland the size of 200 football pitches is weeks away from completion - despite thousands of young trees dying in last year's heatwave.

By the end of February, a quarter of a million trees will have been planted around the village of Fordham, making it the second-biggest new woodland in the country.

About 25,000 trees planted last year fell victim to the spiralling temperatures.

Geoff Sinclair, of the Woodland Trust, said: "The drought was quite tough. We lost about 30 per cent of the trees we planted last year, but they were all replaced before Christmas."

That leaves just 47,500 to go to complete the massive project.