VOLUNTEERS joined forces with staff from Network Homes to plant 70 trees and 5,000 bulbs to create a community orchard at Rectory Park, Northolt, to mark National Tree Week.

Network Homes has also donated £5,000 for an additional 20 trees.

The orchard, planted on unused land owned by Ealing Council, also features a landscaped lake and will be used to grow fruit.

People on the nearby Rectory Park estate will have the opportunity to look after it.

Network Homes began regenerating the estate in 2011, with completion due next year.

The housing association is building 449 homes, an increase of 179 on the properties that originally existed there.

A total of 239 will be shared ownership and London Living Rent and the remaining 210 will be Affordable Rent, which has generated strong demand.

Hill, the housebuilders involved in the regeneration, donated their services to dig the orchard lake and create mounds to enhance the landscape.