Residents of a Ripon street that is a favourite destination for driving instructors have raised concerns about vehicle emissions affecting their health.

Marjorie Sanderson and Geoff Haldenby (pictured), who are neighbours  on South Grange Road, took their plea for assistance to Ripon City Council and councillors agreed to take action, in a bid to stop drivers parking near their houses and those of other residents with car engines running.

Mr Haldenby, who suffers from the lung condition pleural plaques, told the Stray Ferret:

“In the three years that I have lived here, I’ve had five bouts of pneumonia and that made me think that there may be a correlation between my worsening health and  exposure to exhaust fumes.”

He added:

“Having spoken with Marjorie and other neighbours who are also concerned about the impact that emissions have on health, we decided to seek support from the city council and we were very encouraged by the response that we received.”

At Monday’s full council meeting,  Ms Sanderson, pointed out:

“We have instances of driving instructors teaching other instructors, who park up on the road for long periods with their engines running, either to keep their cars cool in summer or warm in winter.

“This is a regular occurrence and with engine idling an offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, we want to see the law enforced.”

After approaches were made to North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and North Yorkshire Council, Ms Sanderson and Mr Haldenby, contacted  the city council and both spoke at Monday’s meeting.

Council leader Andrew Williams, said he was aware that many driving instructors use  South Grange Road and other neighbouring streets on their training routes.

It was unanimously agreed that he would raise the issue of engine idling with both North Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire Police and request that enforcement action is taken when an offence is committed.

The Royal College of Physicians estimate that 40,000 deaths per year in the UK are linked to air pollution, and engine idling contributes to this, because vehicles give off higher emissions when stationary than when they are moving.