ENVIRONMENT Agency staff yesterday celebrated success by planting hundreds of trees.

The employees, based at the agency's Newcastle office, recently won a gold award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

The accolade was achieved after the 180 staff worked 1,000 days without a reportable accident.

Marking their safety achievement, the agency employees yesterday planted 1,000 trees at Bulmer Forest Park, near Seaham.

Environment Agency area manager Graeme Warren said: "We are really proud of our health and safety record and we wanted to celebrate with a permanent reminder of our achievement.

"Despite the many hazards that our staff face during their work, they have protected themselves as well as the environment, so it seemed fitting to celebrate this by planting 1,000 trees, which will help protect the environment for many more decades to come.'' Agency teams have a range of responsibilities which can put them in dangerous situations, such as working around waste disposal sites and alongside fast-flowing water.

About 30 staff members planted the trees yesterday, which were mostly oak and ash, on 110 hectares of community woodland at Bulmer Forest Park.

The planting was organised jointly with the North-East Community Forests organisation, which aims to improve the quality of life for people.

Community Forests chief executive Clive Davies said: "What better way to celebrate a health and safety achievement than to plant trees.''