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I have a medium size horse chestnut tree that seems to get some form of leaf attack within 2-3 weeks of leaf generation every spring. The leafs are attaked by something that creates small holes (around 10-20 per leaf) which eventually kills them, well ahead of autumn.

Some one suggested that the culperate is 'capsid fly' and that the solution was to spray the tree! I'll get a step ladder then!

Does anyone have any ideas as to what this really is and how to stop it?

Thanks,

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Any Professional Horticulturist will tell you that it's never easy diagnosing a pest or disease just from a description. However I'm not going for the Capsid bug idea. From your description I would suggest a fungal disease, their are many mutations all often described as 'Leaf Spot'. Severe infections result in the spots merging to completly destroy the whole leaf. All I can suggest is good house-keeping, clear the leaves up promptly as soon as they have fallen every Autumn, don't leave any under the tree as this will only provide a winter shelter for the fungal spores to wait and then attack those lovely fresh leaves in the spring.
Is the soil where the tree is planted heavy clay? Poor drainage may increase the tree's suceptibility to such infections.
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Thanks, GG.