COLES Solicitors - which have an office in Settle - have teamed up with local charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) to support woodland restoration across the region.

The firm has donated 67 memorial trees as a dedication for each estate administration it is currently undertaking and will continue to plant a new tree for each new instruction, helping to bring long-term environmental benefits.

Alex Spurr, director at Coles and head of the wills and probate team, said: “This is a great opportunity to help maintain the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales that have given so many people enjoyment and livelihoods throughout their lifetimes.”

Just 13 per cent of the UK is covered with trees, compared to the European average of 37 per cent. In the Yorkshire Dales that figure falls to 4.8 per cent - lower than any other national park in the country.

Leah Cardus, fundraising officer at YDMT, said: “It’s great to work with individuals and organisations like Coles Solicitors who share our passion for trees, nature and the environment. Thanks to their generous support we are playing a crucial role in creating new broadleaf woodlands, to enrich the landscape and support a range of wildlife, and that can be enjoyed by future generations.”

YDMT is dedicated to caring for the environmental, social and economic well-being of the Yorkshire Dales, and works in many different ways to achieve this, including working with partners to create new native woodlands in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Dales Woodland Restoration Programme is delivered and funded by a partnership including YDMT, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Forestry Commission. More than 1.2 million new native broadleaf trees have been planted through the programme so far.