The killer ash tree disease has been confirmed at as many as eight sites in Kent in one of Britain's biggest cluster of cases.

The deadly fungus that has devastated forests across Europe has been identified at the county woodland locations, the government said today.

Most of them are spread across the south east of the county - between Ashford and Dover.

However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would not reveal the exact locations in Kent at which ash dieback has been found.

Hundreds of inspectors have been examining forests across the UK to see the extent of the disease that has already wiped out up to 90% of ash trees in some areas of Denmark.

The disease - known as ash dieback or Chalara - has now been confirmed at 82 locations across Britain and is feared to be wiping out thousands of trees.

Ash dieback was first found in a British tree nursery in February. The fungus has since been found in trees at 14 nurseries, 36 planting sites as well as 32 forest and woodland sites.

The confirmation of Kent cases comes after an urgent survey of around 1,000 woodland sites across the UK.

Defra stressed the confirmation of ash dieback in Kent does not mean the disease has spread since the first woodland case was detected in East Anglia.

It is believed the disease might have been in Kent for several years and is likely to have been transmitted by wind from mainland Europe.

Confirmed cases of ash dieback disease are scattered around Kent

Defra said plant health experts are undertaking a further check of 220 "prioritised" sites that have had saplings from nurseries where Chalara was found.

They are also examining around 2,500 blocks of land with mature ash trees to seek out traces of the disease.

Landowners are also being asked to check trees for the condition and to report any suspected to be infected.

Environment secretary Owen Paterson said: "We're doing everything we can to identify where the disease is so that we can focus our efforts on those areas.

"Once we had the scientific advice that the disease in mature trees had probably arrived here by wind from Europe, it was always likely that we'd find it in coastal areas.

Ash tree with Chalara. Picture: Food and Environment Research Agency

"Sadly that's the case with the confirmation today of the disease in Kent and Essex. I would expect even more cases to be confirmed as our urgent survey of ash trees continues.

"We will have the results of the initial survey in time for a major summit on tree and plant health later this week.

"Scientists, charities, landowners and the horticultural industry will meet to agree the next steps for how we can work together to control this threat to our ash trees.

"Over the weekend hundreds of people, both plant health experts and volunteers, were working flat out to find traces of this disease."

Last week, the government banned imports of ash trees in a bid to stop the spread of the disease.