Gardeners have been urged by a woodland conservation charity not to buy rhododendron ponticum this spring.

The Woodland Trust said as an "invasive species", the plant can carry disease, wipe out huge swathes of native woodland plants, and cost the UK millions yearly.

The charity appealed to gardeners to avoid buying the species during spring as they look to stem the threat of deadly tree disease and protect native wildlife.

The Woodland Trust spent £360,000 last year on invasive plant control, such as removing rhododendrons which spread fast and crowd other plants.

Imported rhododendrons bear a high risk of introducing the deadly disease Phytophthora ramorum, fatal to more than 150 plant types.

Rebecca Gosling, a tree disease expert at the Woodland Trust, said: "Rhododendron ponticum is a real problem for the UK’s native plants and trees.

"It is choking native woodland and shading out characteristic plants, including in important temperate rainforests which cover just 1% of land in the UK."

She stressed that the government must prioritise the issue of invasive non-native species.

The charity is urging the public to protect native wildlife by not buying and planting rhododendron ponticum.

They want the government to boost the invasive species biosecurity budget to £3 million and dedicate a further £3 million for a permanent species inspectorate.