TREES in Ilkley and Addingham could be under threat from a deadly disease which rots them away. Bradford tree officers are to investigate after being alerted to the threat by tree surgeon Brian Johnson.

The disease is affecting mountain ash trees outside the town's railway station and flowering cherry trees on Bolton Road - and it has also hit crab apple and silver birch trees in other areas.

Leaves on the trees are curling up and turning black as the disease strikes, but Mr Johnson said he could not identify it.

At least half of the trees show signs of infection.

Officers at Bradford Council's tree department said the disease could be Fireblight which is deadly if it takes hold.

Mr Johnson, 69, of Low Mill Lane, Addingham, said that trees in his village were also affected by the disease.

"My aim is to try to get something done about these trees - I have not seen anything like it," he said.

According to the Surrey-based Arborcultural Advisory and Information Service (AAIS), Fireblight can damage a tree irrecovably in one growing season and thrives in damp, summer weather.

There is no cure once the disease has taken hold but in its early stages pruning off affected branches can halt its progress.

It originates from the US and is caused by bacteria. The first recorded outbreak in Britain was made in Kent in 1956.

It is called Fireblight because when it has taken complete hold of a tree, the blackened branches and leaves make it look as it has been caught in a forest fire.

Guidelines say that the disease is capable of killing large numbers of trees and infected branches should be burned or buried to prevent it spreading.

But expert Derek Patch, of the AAIS, said the damage on the Ilkley and Addingham trees could also be caused by Blossom Wilt which is not as dangerous for the life of the tree as Fireblight.

Blossom Wilt can be treated by spraying with fungicides and pruning to prevent an outbreak in the next growing season.

Mr Johnson said he was also concerned about mature trees in the area which were being killed by ivy growing round them.

He said that oak trees on the River Wharfe bank in Addingham were being strangled by ivy.

"Without the ivy, they would be healthy trees holding the river bank up," said Mr Johnson.

He said he feared that if they ivy was not cut, the trees would die, leaving the riverbank to crumble away.

Bradford Council tree officers have visited the mountain ash trees outside Ilkley Railway Station but did not carry out an inspection because they were on private land.

They have asked anyone who knows of diseased trees on council-owned land to inform them.

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