Barking and Dagenham has joined the likes of Toronto, New York City and Paris to be recognised as a ‘tree city of the world’.

The international programme celebrates cities across all continents that meet core standards for the care and planning of urban trees and forests.

Although not a city, Barking and Dagenham received the backing of the scheme’s organisers, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), along with the Arbor Day Foundation, to earn the prestigious accolade.

There are currently more than 74,000 trees planted across the borough and around 9,000 trees line the streets of Barking and Dagenham. 

This latest success comes after Barking and Dagenham was gifted 272 trees from the government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund and the Mayor of London’s Greener City Fund.

Trees have a variety of benefits for us all, and that's why we're investing in our green spaces in Barking and Dagenham and creating a place where people want to work and live

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Public Realm, said: “We want to be the green capital of the capital, so seeing the borough’s name up alongside international cities such as Milan and Madrid, is a step in the right direction.

“Trees have a variety of benefits for us all, and that's why we're investing in our green spaces in Barking and Dagenham and creating a place where people want to work and live.”

There are currently 28 parks in the borough and over 460 hectares of public open space available for people to enjoy.

The borough is one of only five locations named in the UK as part of the international programme, which launched last year. 

Find out more about the scheme on the Tree cities of the world website.