Experts have warned keen gardeners not to buy a certain type of plant.

The Woodland Trust has urged against purchasing rhododendron ponticum this spring, calling it a threat to native wildlife due to its "invasive" nature.

Imported rhododendrons risk bringing the fatal Phytophthora ramorum disease, harming up to 150 plant species.

The Trust has called for government action and public cooperation..

Tree disease expert at the trust, Rebecca Gosling, said about the plant: "It is choking native woodland and shading out characteristic plants, including in important temperate rainforests which cover just one per cent of land in the UK."