London mayor wants to ban wood-burning stoves

Wood-burning stoves could be banned by London mayor Sadiq Khan to combat air pollution.

Mr Khan has written to environment secretary Michael Gove to be given extra powers including putting a ban on the stoves.

If any law comes in the wood-burning stoves would be banned in urban areas with poor air quality.

The stoves are increasingly popular, some 1.5m have been sold across Britain.

They are particularly popular in south-east England, where almost 20% of households have them, compared with just fiver per cent nationally.

They are so popular in London that it is estimated a third of all of London’s fine-particle pollution comes from domestic wood burning.

Air pollution has become an increasingly troublesome problem for the capital.

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In January it was reported that London has exceeded its annual pollution limit for 2017 – just five days into the new year.

And in February it was found that tens of thousands of children in a quarter of London’s schools are being exposed to illegally-high air pollution.

The report was commissioned by the London mayor and showed that pupils at 802 of London’s chools are routinely breathing in toxic air that could permanently damage their health.

Khan said: ‘Non-transport sources contribute half of the deadly emissions in London, so we need a hard-hitting plan of action to combat them similar to moves I am taking to reduce pollution from road vehicles.’

The mayor’s proposals come after he triggered London’s emergency air quality alert last week for the seventh time in just 13 months.