VOLUNTEERS helped to plant 1,000 trees in just one day.

A total of 38 environmentalists and students from Abingdon and Witney College took on the mammoth task just outside Ascott-under-Wychwood in West Oxfordshire on Thursday.

The challenge was co-ordinated by the Wychwood Project charity which helps look after the former Norman royal hunting forest.

The 1,000 oaks, willows, hawthorns and other native trees and bushes will help stop soil erosion and flooding on this stretch of the river Evenlode.

Helen Datson of the Wychwood Project said: “It was a very successful day.

“The weather was kind, it was extremely muddy and we were up to our calves sloshing about but the conditions for planting were good and we had a lot of fun.”

Thursday’s task was planned with help from the Evenlode Catchment Partnership, another environmental group who are helping stop flooding on the river.

The new woodland will also provide a home to a broad range of animals from insects to birds and mammals.