THE DARWEN-born head of the Arboretum at world famous Kew Gardens planted three commemorative trees in Whitehall Park at the weekend.

Tony Kirkham - now a familiar face to TV viewers - returned to his home town to plant the trees from China which were grown in the nurseries at Kew.

Mr Kirkham, a former patrol leader of Whitehall Scout Group, was marking 100 years of scouting and was assisted by beavers, cubs and scouts from the present-day group.

The event was also filmed for the second series of The Trees That Made Britain which will be broadcast in September.

Jon Hammerton from Kew also came to help the scouts plant the trees with the Queen's Spade and they were joined by members the Friends of Whitehall Park.

Mr Kirkham said: "Whitehall Park was my childhood playground and inspired me to take up forestry as a career.

"It's fantastic that I can return and celebrate scouting's 100th birthday in such an appropriate way."

Mr Kirkham, born and raised in Bull Hill, plays a major role in the Thursday night's A Year at Kew' broadcast last year.

The series provided a month-to-month look at the running of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, following staff, including Tony, on their daily duties.

And thanks to his appearance on the show, Tony has now been offered his own presenting spot in a forthcoming BBC2 programme looking at Britain's trees.

Tony, married with two children, is head of Kew's arboretum and horticultural services, taking care of tens of thousands of trees and shrubs.

He lectures around the world, runs workshops and has also published papers on a wide range of horticultural subjects.

He has also been on several plant collecting expeditions in Chile, South Korea, Taiwan, the Russian far east, central China, and the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Tony, who attended Darwen Moorland High School, began his career in forestry nursery work with Tilhill Forestry Nurseries Ltd, Surrey, before diverting into horticulture and training at Kew.