ROAD traffic campaigners have won the support of Buckinghamshire county councillor Robert Woollard as they bid to fight pollution from the M40.

The M40 Chilterns Environmental Group met with the member for Marlow Rural to show him how homes in Lane End extend almost to the edge of the road.

Cllr Woollard is important to the group because he is a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Environment of Buckinghamshire.

He believes the Government should take responsibility for the road.

He said: "It's quite clear to me that something has to be done about this. The Government cannot wriggle out of this one. I want to lend my support in any way I can to get this problem dealt with."

The campaigners are trying to improve the lives of those who reside close to the M40, between junctions three and seven by reducing noise pollution.

Ken Edwards, co-founder of the group, told the Free Press that he believes collaboration between the Highways Agency and local authorities is essential to finding a solution.

He said: "We need to try to find a collaborative way for us to achieve our goals."

Ironically, this stretch of the route had an experimental quiet surface put in place, prior to its widening in 1991.

The widened road currently carries almost 100,000 vehicles every day, an increase of 250 per cent, which includes a 400 per cent increase in heavy vehicles.

Noise levels at Lane End have doubled even in the dry the equivalent traffic levels increasing eight times.

The M40 group, which represents more than 20,000 residents, has gained support from parliamentary candidates Dominic Grieve, Paul Goodman, David Lidington and Boris Johnson .

For more, see www.M40-Chilterns.org.uk