A local councillor has made a plea to garden centres in the area to stop selling a type of compost that is damaging to the environment.

At the beginning of the autumn, cabinet member for climate change Keith Williams wrote out to shops and garden centres in Swindon encouraging them to stop selling peat compost.

Peatlands are the UK’s largest carbon store and are routinely dug up for horticultural purposes.

When this extraction takes place, the carbon stored inside the peatlands is released as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.

With the government looking to ban the use of peat in horticulture by 2024, Swindon Borough Council is urging retailers to get ahead and stop the sale of it now.

This is all part of the national effort to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050, which the council is backing.

Consumers can also help by making sure that any compost they buy is peat-free.