The Turfgrass Growers Association has issued an official statement regarding the shortage in UK turf.

The statement read, "2018 was a year of extremes; starting with the 'Beast from the East' which hit the UK in early March and then a prolonged cold and wet period for the remainder of March and early April, the UK then headed into a record-breaking hot summer - the average temperature beating that of 1976.

"All agricultural industries battled the unusual weather and throughout the UK yields were diminished. The turf industry also faced similar pressures from the year’s weather; the difficult growing conditions and the increase in demand has caused a winter shortage of turf.

"Looking forward and assuming that this year will not see a repeat of last year’s weather conditions, British turf growers will be in a position to get back to some normality and begin to work on a slow but sure recovery."