Fines for keeping motor running

Drivers in London face on-the-spot fines if they are caught with engines running at the roadside.

They are being tracked down by new teams of "pollution wardens".

Hundreds of drivers have already been issued with official forms warning they are committing an offence if they fail to switch off.

But soon councils will begin issuing £40 fines, cut to £20 for prompt payment. The penalties must be paid within 28 days - followed by the threat of bailiff action for nonpayers-The crackdown is being pioneered in Croydon but is set to sweep the capital.

The move provoked anger from motorists who say they are being victimised by London authorities.

In recent years they have faced a blitz of bus and cycle lanes, the congestion charge and a new network of speed cameras. Today Motorists Against Detection said the latest move was a "step too far". It said it would encourage drivers to take calls on hand-held phones while driving instead of stopping at the side of the road.

However, Croydon insists the scheme has cut kerbside pollution and noise in the borough and that it is welcomed by pedestrians and residents near busy roads.

The Association of London Government warned: "Croydon is the first - but other boroughs are looking at it too." Stephen Potter, Croydon's pollution team manager, said: "We have an enormous problem with pollution in London and this is one element of unnecessary emissions we are dealing with.

"We are not jumping out from behind bushes and catching motorists but - at the moment - giving advice to drivers and letting them know they are committing an offence by having their engines idling while they are parked.

"Most drivers welcome the advice

and say they did not know they were breaking the law."

Buses idling at bus stands are at the top of the hit list.

Their drivers are told by Transport for London that they must not leave their engines running but many do it to keep warm, or - in hot weather - to help keep buses and coaches cool.

Croydon initially discovered that one third of buses were parked with their engines running, but a clampdown this year has improved that figure.

The borough is also focusing on commercial vehicles - but private drivers are in their sights too. One said: "First we were told not to take phone calls while driving or risk being fined for that.

"I pulled over to the side of the road to answer my phone and was approached by a pollution attendant who gave me an official notice.

"Surely they have better things to do. It is becoming a nanny state, with motorists the prime victim."

Croydon has five pollution attendants on patrol. Since January, it has issued more than 500 leaflets to offenders but will soon issue fines.

If each offender had instead been fined, Croydon would have issued tickets worth at least ?10,000.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The authorities must be flexible on this - it is better for safety if motorists do pull over to the side of the road when checking maps or a street number than continuing to drive and we mustn't put them off.

"Also, since the new mobile phone laws came in, many more drivers are pulling over to stay on the right side of the law, which is a good thing."