A FUNGUS affecting lime trees in the Malvern and Colwall areas appears to be under control thanks to swift action and close monitoring by Malvern Hills Conservators.

The parasitic fungus known as Kretschmaria deusta was detected in two trees in the Moorlands Road area of Malvern Link Common by the conservators during their 2005 tree survey.

Those trees were felled a year ago and since then there has been little evidence of the disease.

Malvern Hills Conservators conservation officer Rob Havard said: "Those two were the worst affected. We have not seen too much of the disease since we took those trees out.

"Healthy trees tend not to get affected by it but if the tree is already stressed it is more vulnerable."

He said trees in open land tended to be healthier than those near roads and paths where the ground becomes compacted - stressing the roots. "We are keeping an eye out for the fungus. We regularly monitor every tree that is next to a highway or property. The worry with this disease is that when there is a lot of it in a tree it makes the trunk very brittle," said Mr Harvard.

He said some of Malvern's residents had become very concerned about the future of the avenues of lime trees in the town when the fungus was spotted.

"Many of the lime avenues have another line of limes behind them about 15 or 20 years old.

"Someone in the conservators had the foresight to plant these and it means as soon as one comes down there is another one standing behind it. And because it is standing further back from the road it is less likely to get stressed."