A LONDON Assembly member is urging Boris Johnson to replace the thousands of trees destroyed by St Jude's storm in October last year.

Freedom of Information requests revealed every London borough lost trees planted on public land during the two-day storm which battered the South East on October 27 and 28.

Bexley lost 126 trees, Bromley lost 127, Lewisham lost 115, whereas Greenwich fared better and lost 67.

However, the worst-hit borough was Harrow, which lost more than 300 trees destroyed whereas Kingston came off lightly with only seven trees lost.

London Assembly environment spokesman Stephen Knight, who collected the data, is urging the Mayor of London to step up his tree planting programme in light of these figures.

He said: "Such a sudden loss of trees in such a short period of time, and just on public land, is a clear reminder than London might at present be losing, not gaining the total number of trees that it has.

"For every tree lost on public land back in October there were also many thousands more lost on privately owned land during the St Jude’s Day storm. And sadly since St Jude’s Day many more trees have also been destroyed."

He added: "The Mayor boasts about his tree planting programme, but in reality it is incredibly limited. The 10,000 trees planted during his first term and a further 10,000 planted by 2015 add up to little when you start examining how many trees are being lost.

"At the very least the Mayor should immediately examine these figures and ensure that the boroughs most hit by losses of trees receive help in planting replacement trees.

"But longer term we also need to be far more ambitious about tree planting across London. More trees in London could bring huge advantages, including ensuring London is far more pleasant on the hottest days in Summer and that during periods of wet weather there is far more natural drainage of rain water.

"A London with far more trees would ensure London’s environment was far more attractive for everyone."