False reports of ash dieback flood in as tree owners confuse frost with deadly infection Chalara ash dieback poses a deadly risk to Britain's 80million ash trees But people are mistaking autumnal changes with the disease's symptoms False alarm: The Forestry Commission has received hundreds of calls from people mistaking the withering of seed pods for symptoms of ash dieback The onset of the first winter frosts have led confused tree owners to inundate officials with false reports of ash dieback disease. The Forestry Commission said it has received hundreds of calls from concerned members of the public mistaking the withering of seed pods for symptoms of the deadly infection. Chalara ash dieback, which has ravaged ash populations across Europe, is believed to pose a major risk to Britain's estimated 80million ash trees. But outbreaks have so far been concentrated around recently planted sites in the South East and, despite fears, just 607 cases have been confirmed since it was first spotted in February last year. As ash trees start to feel the effect of plummeting temperatures, the commission has reminded horticultural enthusiasts that falling leaves do not necessarily indicate dieback. A spokesman said the first false alarms came in the south, where ash pods ripen and wither first, and have spread north in line with regional changes in the seasons. Warning sign: Elongated lesions in the bark of ash trees like this one are a symptom of ash dieback infection John Morgan, head of the commission's plant health service, said: 'We welcome reports of suspected cases, especially in new areas. However, we do encourage people to check first that the tree really is an ash tree and the symptoms are Chalara symptoms, and we have published identification guides on our website. 'What some people are mistaking for symptoms of disease are actually a sign of the exceptionally productive fruiting season, or "mast year," we've had. The clumps of seeds, known as keys, can sometimes look like the blackened and shrivelled leaves which are a symptom of the disease, so it is easy to see how the mistake can be made. The best way to recognise Chalara in the autumn is by the elongated, diamond-shaped lesions, or discolouring, which it causes in the bark of stems and branches around points where leaves, twigs and branches are attached. This discoloured bark often has splits in it. A year after the disease first appeared in the UK, conservation groups are still relying on public sightings to help them contain its spread. Chris Blincoe, programme manager for the group behind AshTag, a charity that catalogues potential sightings of Chalara, said there have been more than 12,000 downloads of AshTag and around 2,000 sightings submitted since the project launched in October last year. 'After an initial flurry of submissions in the first couple of months, the numbers have remained fairly steady with no recent noticeable rise,' he said. The success of AshTag has demonstrated just how willing the public are to support efforts to maintain the health of our countryside and handheld technology such as smartphones provide a new avenue to make this possible. We actively encourage the participation of the public in AshTag, the focus of which is now on using citizen science to identify and track healthy ash trees, particularly those that are surrounded by infected trees, as they may be less susceptible to ash dieback. This data will help those scientists aiming to understand and ultimately limit the impact of ash dieback. Epidemic: A map prepared by the Forestry Commission shows the sites in the UK where there have been outbreaks of ash dieback. Despite fears, just 607 cases have been confirmed since February last year