Five large trees in Coalville Park – including some that have been there since the park first opened – are being felled due to disease.

Tree specialists have advised North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) that four oak trees and one beech tree are diseased and are at risk of falling.

The council says that, to make sure visitors to the park are kept safe, the trees will be felled over the coming weeks.

This will also ensure the disease affecting the trees does not spread to other healthy trees in the park.

The trees will be replaced with three oaks, a copper beech and a rowan in March this year, along with additional planting of fruit trees in the sensory garden and in the field at the rear of the park.

Depending on the condition of the wood, the timber from the felled trees will be stored until a use can be found for them at a future date, with ideas including sculptures for the park.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, said: "It's saddened everyone who manages our parks that these trees need to come down.

"In a formal area like Coalville Park, large trees like these are a significant part of the space.

"We won't know until the trees are felled what the condition of the wood is.

"Once the trees are down, the trunks will be assessed for their suitability to become part of a future project.

"We'll store any suitable wood and will look into potentially using the timber for sculpture or another use that will bring something positive to the park or other spaces in the future."