Islington Council has signed up to a London-wide campaign encouraging businesses to the tackle air pollution caused by idling engines.

The #EnginesOff campaign run by the Idling Action Project, along with 29 other councils and the City of London Corporation, wants to encourage motorists not to leave their engines running while parked.

As part of the initiative, the council’s own fleets will be taking the #EnginesOff pledge and will receive driver training.

The campaign comes amidst emerging evidence that air pollution is linked to poor recovery from, and higher infection rates of Covid-19 due to lung damage.

Islington’s eco chief Cllr Rowena Champion said: “As we move out of lockdown, it’s more important than ever that we clean our air to support those with breathing difficulties, which is one of the reasons why we are creating people-friendly streets to make it easier to walk, cycle, scoot and use buggies and wheelchairs.”