Today in South Whitley Park a famous Hollywood actor helped residents plant an orchard of fruit trees.

Winston Ellis from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise joined the charity Freely Fruity to plant 50 new saplings to benefit the local community.

Mr Ellis said that something like this means a great deal to him as he grew up in the area.

“I’m Reading born and bred and I used to teach martial arts just over the way there. This whole area means a lot to me and it’s great for the younger generation.

“My grandchildren go to supermarkets and buy fruit and veg and they can’t believe that it comes from trees.

“To see something like this and see the community turn this waste ground into something so beneficial is just fantastic.”

Robert Stirling from Reading Borough Council said that the general idea of the new orchard is to provide fresh fruit for the neighbourhood.

“It’s something for everyone really,” he said. “We’re trying to get as many people as possible talking about it and interested in it.

“Freely Fruity is starting the ball rolling with planting the trees, but we also want to gather local people who can keep an eye on the orchard.”

Matthew Knight from Freely Fruity said that they started up in 2020 and since then have planted 1300 fruit trees across Wokingham and now into Reading with this new addition being the first major orchard.

50 trees were added today to the 25 fruit trees already on the land. The types of trees included pear, apple, cherry, and nectarine.

“The idea is to get more fruit into the neighbourhood,” Mr Knight said. “So that it’s just available for people to just pick for free. Lots of people have turned up today which is just great to see.

“There’s lots of local businesses getting involved as well. It’s really awesome.”

Other than planting the trees, Freely Fruity was also handing out seeds and fresh strawberry plants to attending residents.

Mr Knight continued “It should hopefully for years to come be amazing for the local residents. It’s also great for the wildlife.

“A lot of people worry about fruit trees thinking that you’ll get rats, but that’s just not the case. a rat is so much more likely to go through your bin than want to eat fallen apples.”

George Tighe who has just started up his own CIC company said that today is important for getting people out of their houses, talking to each other, and looking after nature.

“People are realising that there are benefits to something like this socially and that it’s also good for the environment. It’s a great way to meet people whilst benefiting the local community.”