The first confirmed case of Chalara ash dieback has been confirmed in Oxfordshire tonight.

A map published by the Forestry Commission shows an infection at a recently planted site north east of Oxford, near Bicester. The disease has now been confirmed in 115 sites in the UK.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will not disclose the exact location of the infection, which is caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea and has previously resulted in the loss of between 60 per cent and 90 per cent of ash trees in Denmark.