A new outbreak of Dutch elm disease has infected more than 50 trees in Auckland.
Auckland Council is having the trees removed from private land in the suburb of Whitford and using insecticide to kill the beetle that spreads the disease.
The council says the discovery is a timely reminder that although the disease has faded from the headlines, it remains a risk to an estimated 17,000 elm trees around Auckland and New Zealand.
The first outbreak was in the early 1990s, and the disease, which is caused by a fungus, is still only found in Auckland.
