Hundreds of schoolchildren in Kingston and Richmond are being exposed to illegal levels of air pollution from diesel vehicles.

A joint investigation by Greenpeace and the Guardian found that thousands of schools across the country are within 150 metres of roads where the level of nitrogen dioxide from diesel traffic exceeds the legal limit of 40ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air).

According to the data, students at Twickenham Academy in Percy Road are exposed to some of the highest levels of air pollution in Richmond, with levels peaking at 52.5ug/m3.

Children at St Stephen's C of E Primary School in Winchester Road are being exposed to levels of more than 49ug/m3, along with pupils at Darell Primary and Nursery in Darell Road who are near to levels of 47.77ug/m3.

But tens of nursery schools in the borough are seeing the highest levels of air pollution, with Happy Hut Pre-School in Chertsey Road, Twickenham, being exposed to levels of 53.74ug/m3.

Councillor Cathy Roberts, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Environmental Health at Kingston Council, said: "We know that there are areas of Kingston, like the majority of London, that aren't reaching the Government's targets for air quality, specifically around busy roads.

"We are actively tackling this issue through our air quality action plan, which was approved last year.

"Our action plan focuses on changing behaviours and encouraging sustainable travel, including public transport, cycling and walking initiatives.

"As part of this, we'll be working with a number of schools to develop travel plans to promote sustainable transport choices."

Richmond Council launched a campaign last month encouraging drivers to switch off their engines when they pick up and drop off their children during the school run.

Richmond's cabinet member for environment, Councillor Pamela Fleming, said: "Leaving an engine running unnecessarily whilst a vehicle is stationary pollutes the air we breathe, causes unnecessary noise and costs drivers money.

"Switching off your engine is an easy way to help improve air quality and the health of people – particularly children in Richmond."

The figures from the investigation come as the government comes under pressure to dramatically improve methods in cleaning the nation's air.

Ministers are expected to publish a revised plan to tackle air pollution within days after the previous report was deemed inadequate by the High Court.

Anna Jones, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "Most people don’t realise that all across the country, toddlers are being exposed to invisible air pollution caused by diesel vehicles.

"At such a young age, children are extremely vulnerable to its effects, and it can cause long-lasting health impacts and reduced lung function.

"We were told diesel cars were the cleaner choice, but car makers lied about how much pollution they emit.

"That deception has left our kids exposed to toxic air pollution that’s causing widespread chronic health problems."

14 of the 264 schools in Kingston are within 150m of roads with more than 40ug/m3, but a large portion of these are exposed some of the highest levels of air pollution.

Children at Playtime Day Nursery in Tolworth, which borders the A3 just after the Tolworth roundabout, are exposed to levels of more than 51ug/m3, with pupils at Tiffin Boys School in Kingston Town Centre exposed to levels of 49.43ug/m3.

But the Kingston Vale Montessori Nursery School, based in St John's Church Halls in Robin Hood Lane near the A3 sees the highest levels in both Richmond and Kingston of more than 55ug/m3.

Professor Jonathan Grigg, an expert in air pollution and children’s health at Queen Mary University of London, said: "Since emissions from heavily used roads in the UK are unacceptably high, it comes as no surprise that young children in nurseries near to main roads are being exposed to high concentrations of pollution, especially when they are outdoors.

"We urgently need to reduce emissions, and the first target must be our ageing diesel fleet."

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