THE area of broadleafed woodland in the North-East has grown by 50 per cent during the past 20 years, the most detailed survey of trees in the region has revealed.

The finding is contained in the regional edition of the National Inventory of Woodland and Trees - a green census carried out by the Forestry Commission since 1924.

Tree cover in the North-East has increased from 11 to 12 per cent of land area since the last study took place in 1980, compared with the national average of 8.4 per cent.

But the major shift has been in the growth of broadleaf cover, which has risen to 61,000 acres - the highest level for centuries.

Stuart Maidment, of the Forestry Commission's North-East Conservancy, launched the study at Hedley Hall Wood, near Stanley, County Durham, where the Woodland Trust has planted 115 acres of woodland.

He said: "At the turn of the last century, woodland cover in England had plummeted to below five per cent and the North-East was even lower.

"A lot has changed over the last century. The region is now the country's principal timber producer and has also recorded a significant increase in the broadleaf cover since the last inventory, driven by greater environmental awareness and Government grants."

The inventory shows the region's predominant tree is sitka spruce, covering 105,000 acres - at 20 per cent - while overall conifer cover has decreased by six per cent. Oak is the most abundant broadleaf, covering 12,300 acres - a rise of 109 per cent.

The same survey shows that broadleaf cover in Yorkshire expanded by 18 per cent.