There used to be more than 30 million elm trees in England and they dominated many landscapes, especially in the South. But 40 years ago they started to become infected by Dutch elm disease and within a short time, it killed nearly all of them. Only a few places still have elms and by far the largest of them is Brighton and Hove.

The beetle carrying the disease could not fly very far and was unable to make it unaided over the Downs or the sea.

So the only way the disease could be transmitted to the resort was by people bringing in infected logs.

It helped that the two towns, which then had separate councils, were united in wanting to preserve these fine trees. There was also a dedicated band of volunteers, including tree experts, which went under the name of Save The Elms.

Whenever anyone saw a tree that was infected, swift and ruthless action was taken. If the infection was small it was pruned out and if it was big, the tree was felled. Councillors took the bold and highly necessary step of paying for infected trees to be removed on private land – even applying that to neighbouring Adur.

It worked. While other authorities lost thousands of elms each year in the early 1970s, losses each summer in Brighton and Hove were often less than 300.

Heroes of the struggle against the deadly disease included two men with appropriate names – Rob Greenland of Brighton Council and Ray Strong of Save The Elms. There was also good leadership from the park’s directors in Brighton, firstly Ray Evison and then Mike Griffin.

But there were reverses along the way. Elms suffered during the great summer drought of 1976. Hundreds of them were felled by the 1987 hurricane, including some particularly fine specimens in the centre of Brighton.

Environmental embarrassment

However, the storm saved Brighton Council from an environmental embarrassment. Elms planted at The Level in the 19th century were too close together. Officials were expecting tremendous opposition to a report recommending that some of them be felled, but nature carried out the task before the report was made public. The removal of trees probably improved the view of St Peter’s Church from the south.

Some of the elms in Brighton are among the great trees of Britain. One stands in the gardens of the Royal Pavilion near the North Gate. Another on the southern boundary path is older than the Pavilion itself, dating from 1776. It almost died during the 1960s because the trunk had become hollow, but new shoots unexpectedly arrived and it was nursed back to health.

Even this amazing tree is not as ancient as the so-called Preston twins, two gigantic elms in Preston Park which are more than 400 years old.

In 1998, Brighton was named as the home of the National Elm collection. No one is quite sure just how many elms there are left in the city, but the total is probably more than 20,000.

They are particularly resistant to salt-laden winds and will grow quite near the seafront, but not usually on the coast itself.

Disease-resistant strains have been developed. Many young trees have been planted in streets and parks to complement the existing stock.

But if it was not for the efforts of tree lovers, Brighton and Hove wouldn’t be able to enjoy this unique dendrologist’s delight.