Ash dieback disease suspected in private gardens for first time The Telegraph has also established that the disease has been found in six publicly owned Forestry Commission woodlands, including one of the largest lowland forests in England. Toby Hammond, from the University of East Anglia which is running the ashtag.org website for the public to report suspected cases of ash dieback before they are analysed by experts, said signs of the disease in gardens will worry many householders. He said: "We have received hundreds of reports over the past couple of weeks and we have had experts examining them to identity those that are likely to be Chalara. We have so far identified 45 sites that are likely to have the disease. These now need to be confirmed by the plant health inspectors from the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. There are two likely cases that have been found in back gardens, one of which is in west London. I suspect trees have been infected for some time and it could have arrived here up to five years ago which would explain why it is now so widespread. The disease has been found at 17 nurseries, 67 sites where young trees had been recently planted and 116 areas where adult trees have been found to be infected in established wood or similar areas. A spokesman for Defra said no cases of Chalara had yet been confirmed in private gardens. Among those are seven publicly owned forests run by the Forestry Commission, including two sites in Thetford Forest, in Norfolk, one of the biggest lowland forests in England with more than 19,000 hectares of woodland. Rendlesham Wood, a 1,500 hectare forest in Suffolk, Theberton Wood, a 25 hectare patch of woodland in Suffolk, Eggringe Wood, which forms part of a stretch of woodland on the Kent Downs covering 1,598 hectares, and the 400 hectare Elham Park wood in east Kent, have all been found with infected ash trees. It is thought that all of the infected trees in these locations are mature and will not be destroyed immediately as they can take several years to die and provide valuable refuge for rare insects. In public areas or in gardens, however, trees may need to be cut down as they succumb if they begin to pose a danger. Earlier this year the Forestry Commission had to destroy 50,000 saplings at Dalbeatie Forest in Dumfries and Galloway after they were found to be infected with Chalara. A Defra spokesman said: "The Forestry Commission investigates all potential sightings of chalaza that are reported by Ashtag."