ONLY seven places in Worcestershire have breached air pollution levels according to figures from a campaign group – and four of them are in Kidderminster.

Two spots on the Horsefair, plus the A456 Coventry Street and the junction of Comberton Road and Chester Road near to Kidderminster railway station have been highlighted by Friends of the Earth.

One of the Horsefair measurements showed the area exceeds accepted nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution levels by more than 50 per cent – an annual average of 59.6ug/m3 compared to the recognised safe level of 40ug/m3.

Coventry Street (43.4) and Comberton Road (41.0) narrowly exceeded the safety mark, the Friends of the Earth air quality audit showed.

The only other Worcestershire town or city to breach levels was Worcester – but that only had three pollution hotspots.

Altogether, almost 2,000 locations nationally have breached the Air Quality Objective levels, including 218 in the West Midlands with Birmingham, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent the biggest offenders.

A leading cause of NO2 pollution is road traffic emissions – and high levels of the gas, which irritates the lungs, can cause breathing difficulties, coughing and asthma flare-ups.

Friends of the Earth is campaigning for Clean Air Zones to be rolled out in far more places than are currently being planned, supported by measures such as improved infrastructure to support safe cycling and walking.

Chris Crean, West Midlands campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s unforgivable to see many locations across the region over air quality limits, leaving thousands of us breathing dangerously polluted air.

“Air pollution is often an issue thought of as affecting only the biggest cities. The reality is that unacceptably toxic air can be found across much of the UK, even in smaller towns.

“It is harming the health of people across the country and is especially bad for young children whose lungs are still developing.

“The government needs to step up and do more to deal with this air pollution crisis – they can’t just carry on leaving the difficult decisions with local authorities, many of which are severely under-resourced.”