A CARAVAN park blighted by a deadly plant disease has turned the ‘heartbreak’ of axing hundreds of trees into a positive addition to its eco endeavours.

Skelwith Fold caravan park, Ambleside, had to give 200 mature larch trees the chop last winter after the fatal Phytophthoras plant disease-from the Greek for ‘plant destroyer’- was found for the second time that year on the park by the Forestry Commission.

The cull was necessary to prevent the blight spreading, and the park’s family owners said they were ‘absolutely heart-broken’ at having to lose so many specimens.

But now the larcheshave made a triumphant return to the site and are being up-cycled this summer across a range of building and other projects on the park.

“We have gone from despair to delight at seeing our trees not go to waste, and instead playing a big part in our sustainability work,” said Skelwith Fold’s director, Henry Wild.

“For example, the sawn timber has created a stunning natural finish to our new energy-efficient office building which includes an air source heat pump and solar panels.

“The larches are also being turned into everything from fencing, planters and outdoor seating to red squirrel feeders and hand-crafted furniture for our holiday homes.

“We hope to find a good use for virtually every last splinter, even using smaller branches to create wildlife habitats, and turning off-cuts into chippings for our playground.”

Gaps that have appeared in the park’s 130 acres of woodland and grounds where the trees once stood have become part of a rewilding project, added Mr Wild.

“It’s given us a great opportunity to let nature loose and regenerate in its own way, and we’re already seeing saplings, wildflowers and other plants pushing up through the soil,” he said.

“We’re thrilled that so many unexpected positives have come out from what we originally saw as a complete disaster, and that has a very special resonance in these times.”

The Wild family, who have owned the park for nearly 25 years, has won a number of environmental awards for its care of the natural world and many wildlife-friendly projects.

Mr Wild says he is now hopeful that Skelwith Fold’s quick response to the outbreak will help put the brakes on the spread of the plant disease in the Lake District.