Ten places where drivers should turn off their car engines when stuck in traffic have been revealed by Wycombe District Council in a bid to cut toxic pollution levels.

New signs telling drivers to turn off their engines when stationary have gone up at 10 different locations in High Wycombe and Marlow including West Wycombe Road, Marlow Hill and Marlow High Street.

It's all part of a wider bid to get people thinking about ways to reduce pollution and improve air quality in the district.

The signs have popped up in these 10 locations:

High Wycombe

• Marlow Hill (opposite Park and Ride)

• West Wycombe Road (near pedestal roundabout)

• West Wycombe Road (opposite Victoria Street junction)

• Hughenden Road (near Bellfield Road roundabout)

• Amersham Hill (just uphill from Totteridge Road)

• London Road (between Knaves Hollow and White Hill)

• London Road (near Harlow Road)

Marlow

• West Street (on the corner with Spinfield Lane)

• Little Marlow Road (by Foxes Piece)

• High Street (next to Higginson Park)

The district council has worked with Bucks County Council to get the new signs put up.

It comes after reports in 2017 showed that air pollution levels in some areas of High Wycombe were more than 70 per cent above the national target.

The worst exceedance in Marlow was found to be 48 microgrammes per cubic metre at Chapel Street – 20 per cent higher than the national target – while the most marginal result in High Wycombe was 40 microgrammes per cubic metre at the junction of West Wycombe Road and Victoria Street.

It prompted the district council to introduce two new air quality management areas (AQMA) in Marlow and High Wycombe in a bid to bring pollution levels down.

Cllr Julia Adey, cabinet member for environment at Wycombe District Council, said: “These signs are part of our air quality action plan and are an important reminder to motorists that they could be helping to cut emissions even as they wait in traffic.

“Many new cars have stop-start systems that automatically shut off the engine when the car is at rest. Research suggests this improves a car’s fuel economy by over eight percent in heavy traffic.

“For cars without this feature, it really is worth turning off the engine. Many people wonder if this is efficient, or how long they should wait before it becomes efficient, but it is well established that the saving in terms of pollutants occurs within a second.

"As an added benefit, that saving will also translate into small but incremental reductions in fuel costs.”

Wycombe District Council’s air quality action plan can be found at www.wycombe.gov.uk/pages/Environment/Air-pollution/Air-quality-management.aspx