Marlow motorists have been urged to be ‘part of the solution, not the pollution’, following an air contamination crisis in the town.

This comes after the town was named an air quality management area, with Marlow having high levels of nitrogen dioxide which has been above the legal limit for several years.

Marlow Town Council have confirmed that they are doing their bit to decrease the levels by putting up a banner in Spittal Street which states that vehicles are the main cause of pollution.

The banner was erected on August 25 and will remain in the street for approximately two weeks, before being taken down.

It will then be put back up periodically for the foreseeable future.

Jocelyn Towns, the council leader and chair of Marlow Town Council's environment group said: “As a council, we don’t have extensive powers to change who drives through Marlow Town Centre and when, but we can try to influence how people drive, and this is what we are doing.

“Multiple studies have shown that smoother driving behaviour can cut exhaust pollution.

“Wycombe District Council is preparing to put up ‘no-idling’ signs in Marlow town centre; we wanted to do our bit too to get the message across.

“We know that smoother driving behaviour alone will not solve Marlow’s air pollution problem, so we are exploring other options too.”

Marlow town centre was declared an air quality management area (AQMA) after monitoring showed that the annual average level of nitrogen dioxide had been above the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3).

This comes a month after MTC (Marlow Town Council) launched a new initiative called #SustainableMarlow, which is to try and make Marlow one of the most environmentally friendly places in the south of England.

And under this initiative, the council is developing a project to encourage cycling and other forms of eco-friendly transportation instead of driving.

It was also suggested that drivers should reduce hard acceleration and switch off their engines when stationary to decrease their emissions.

The AQMA covers several part of the town centre which includes the High Street, West Street, Spittal Street, Chapel Street and a portion of Little Marlow Road.

Nitrogen dioxide is primarily produced by vehicle exhausts with the toxins causing damage to human health, particularly to the cardiovascular and respiratory functions.