A few hardy souls sit on Downhills Park's benches, reading or watching squirrels scamper through multicoloured piles of leaves. Parents and toddlers wrapped up in hats and scarves are braving the playground while pupils from Wisdom School nearby are using the park for their PE class, a run that has collapsed into a walk for many of the giggling teenage girls. Downhills is a well-loved green space in densely populated Haringey, one of London's more deprived areas.

"This park is my lungs," said dog walker and health worker Elizabeth Bell, 62. "I come here most days because it's peaceful and cheers me up to see the colour in the trees and the little ones playing. It lets you breathe again. Not many people round here have gardens, and if they do they're filled with wheelie bins and recycling bins. This is our giant garden. We need it for our health – mental and physical."

Leading European companies announced job losses totalling more than 10,000 on Wednesday, underlining the scale of problems facing the continent's manufacturers.

Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, said 2,000 jobs would be cut after it posted an almost doubling of pre-tax losses in the face of falling prices and fierce competition from China.

Tree growers, politicians, scientists and landowners will meet on Wednesday in London to discuss a strategy to control the deadly fungal disease which threatens to kill 80m ash trees in Britain.

The tree summit is expected to hear from the government that more cases have been identified in both woodlands and nurseries following inspections by the Forestry Commission and reports by the public.

Earlier this week, new cases were identified across Britain, suggesting the disease has arrived on both spores blown in from the continent and on nursery stock.

Large parts of England and Wales are on flood alert after heavy rain – plus snow and hail – swept across the UK over the weekend. On Monday morning 16 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is needed – were in place: six in the south-west of England, five in the Anglian region and three in the Midlands.

In addition the Environment Agency published more than 70 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, almost half of them in the south-east of England.