Entire swathes of the UK have been put into a quarantine zone over a dangerous bug which threatens to destroy woods and forests.

The Forestry Commission has today issued a warning as it expands a controlled area in parts of England to protect against the spread of a ruthless pest.

This is because of a tree pest Ips Typographus, also known as the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle, which has been found on Norway spruce trees in East Anglia and poses a threat to the UK's timber industry.

The eight-toothed spruce bark beetle is a serious pest found on spruce trees in Europe and it was first identified in the UK in Kent in 2018. It prefers stressed or dying trees but in the right conditions it can also attack healthy trees too. It has the potential to cause ‘significant damage’ to forestry in the UK and to the valuable timber industry as it attacks and kills trees.

From next Wednesday, June 12, a 'lockdown' will come into force across an extended, larger demarcated area (DMA) in the South East of England and East Anglia to prevent potential spread of the pest, in line with the eradication action taken by the Forestry Commission to manage outbreaks. It means movement and operations for businesses affected by the issue will be restricted.

It means a total of 16 areas in the UK will be hit with limits on timber business in order to try to limit the spread of the insect.

The existing Demarcated area, last extended in 2022, covers parts of Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey, City of London, Greater London, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Essex and Hampshire. After findings of Ips typographus were reported to Forestry Commission, the extended zone will now cover parts of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

It means in those areas, felling of trees and movement of all spruce material is banned for all businesses, including bark, isolated bark and wood chips.

Any suspected findings of the beetle must be reported using the online portal TreeAlert.

Forestry Commission spokesperson Andrea Deol said: “Following a report of Ips typographus to the Forestry Commission in East Anglia, we conducted a swift investigation including rapid eradication measures, alongside wider environment surveillance to determine the scale of the issue and identify additional suitable management actions.

“All landowners, managers and timber processors should remain vigilant for Ips typographus. It is important for landowners to continue to check the health of spruce trees on their land, this is particularly important now we are entering the next flight season.”