THE Forestry Commission has been widely criticised for a social media posts about the benefits of trees ... which didn't mention their use in timber. 

A number of well-known foresters were among those to bemoan the glaring omission, calling out the organisation for failing to recognise the importance of building the UK's "sustainable supply" of wood. 

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The tweet, published to mark the beginning of National Tree Week on Saturday, instead said: 

"As well as supporting nature, trees can:

  • provide fruit and nut crops
  • offer shade and shelter for livestock and crops
  • protect soils
  • reduce flood risk and pollution run-off." 

Several foresters were quick to reply to the message, with Nick Adams, of Kilmaha Forestry & Countryside Services, asking: "Anybody spot the glaring omission from this list?" 

Ben Clinch and Andrew Heald also responded with similar criticism, as did many others.

The UK's tree-planting and timber woes are long established, with the nation remaining the world's second-largest net importer of wood in the last year. As well as 80 per cent of the country's timber coming from abroad, it didn't even plant half of its annual 30,000-hectare target of new woodland in the 12 months prior to March. 

In the last hour, the FC has tweeted again in response to the backlash, writing: "Thank you for engaging with National Tree Week. 

"We just wanted to reassure you this post wasn’t intended to be a complete list of the benefits trees can bring, it is a part of the nature-focused campaign we are currently running."