AROUND 20,000 new trees, planted only last November, went up in smoke as wildfires tore through Doncaster. 

The 'apocalyptic scene' in Carcroft has been described as clear evidence of the effect rising temperatures will have on the country, with Ed Miliband calling for action to be taken now. 

The former Labour leader made the comments following a recent visit to the village of Clayton, where homes, thousands of trees and green spaces went up in smoke in last month's heatwave. 

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Miliband said: “I was here last November planting trees with volunteers and they’ve been burnt to the ground in the heat.

“This is a clear effect of the extreme temperatures that we’re facing as a country.

“This shows why we’ve got to tackle the climate crisis and the people who say let’s not go too far and what’s all the fuss about are completely wrong.

“We’ve got to tackle the climate crisis and we can in a way that can deal and tackle the cost of living crisis and create good jobs because we know that renewable energy is by far the cheapest form of power that we now have.

“The climate crisis is now just not a future reality, it is here now and we can’t shy away from it.”