For years it was a woodland overgrown with ferns – a space unusable for the community.

But this weekend parish councillors and village volunteers picked up their shovels and spades, donned their wellington boots and started to transform the open space.

Around 105 trees were planted on a half acre space of Beetley Common, near Dereham, by the village council's advisory committee.

After being supplied with a tree planting pack from the Woodland Trust, 12 community spirited volunteers took to the half-acre space on Saturday morning to plant wild cherry, dogwood, hazel, hawthorn and blackthorn trees.

Parish council chairman, Angela Leigh, said a request from Horace Bloy, the chairman of the Beetley Common Advisory, a sub-committee of the parish council, prompted the planting.

Mr Bloy said the ferns were overgrown before the cut-back and he hoped the new additions would encourage wildlife, bring colour in to the area as well provide a space for people to walk.

John Tucker, the Woodland Trust's director of woodland creation, said the UK has less wooded areas than the rest of Europe, and that they are under threat.

'By teaming up with communities like the Beetley Common Advisory Committee, the Woodland Trust is working to double our native woodland cover and enrich our landscape .

'It's also great to get the public out planting trees, hopefully providing people with an experience they will remember forever.'