Forest cover across 200 square mile site has quadrupled from six to 25 per cent since restoration project was launched in 1991

The National Forest is celebrating reaching 25 per cent forest cover across its 200 square mile site in the Midlands, up from six per cent when the tree planting project was launched 30 years ago.

The non-profit behind the environmental initiative, the National Forest Company, announced earlier this week that more than 9.5 million trees had been planted on the former industrial and coal mining landscape.