Speed bumps could be removed from roads in the UK after Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, told local councils to scrap them as part of plans to reduce pollution.

Mr Gove said town halls should prioritise "improving road layouts and junctions to optimise traffic flow, for example by considering removal of road humps".

The instruction is part of Government efforts to reduce air pollution, which could also see owners of diesel vehicles hit with a new tax.

Ministers say they want councils to use other methods, such as changing road layouts, before introducing new charges on drivers.

The 98-page document, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlined plans for reducing roadside levels of nitrogen dioxide, which have soared in recent years.

Many cities in the UK now breach legal pollution limits, and tens of thousands of deaths each year are linked to air pollution.

Speed bumps are said to double emissions by causing vehicles to repeatedly slow down and speed up. Research by scientists at Imperial College London showed a diesel car emits 98 per cent more nitrogen dioxide when driving over speed bumps compared to narrower and shallower “road cushions”.

The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Show all 10 1 /10 The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Ukraine A radioactive sign hangs on barbed wire outside a café in Pripyat. The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bulgaria Mandatory Credit: Photo by NUKARI/REX (407890f) A power plant outside Sofia STOCK OF BULGARIA - FEB 2003 Rex Features The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Belarus The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Russia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Armenia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bosnia and Herzegovina Women wearing masks walk in front of academy of fine arts as smog blankets Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina December 23, 2015. With severe air pollution affecting the city nestled among the mountains, the authorities have declared the first level of preparedness, advising the segment of the population that is at health risk to reduce movement in the mornings and evenings, appealing to drivers to use motor vehicles less and ordering heating utilities to lower the emission of harmful gases. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic REUTERS The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Georgia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Hungary TOXIC SPILL, AJKA, HUNGARY-OCTOBER 9, 2010: This is an image of the toxic spill in Ajka, Hungary affecting the villages of Kolontar and Devecsar Hungary. (credit: DigitalGlobe) DigitalGlobe The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths China The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Moldova

Emergency services have said speed bumps can also delay ambulances, fire engines and police cars responding to urgent calls.

Road safety campaigners, however, say the bumps are crucial in slowing cars down in residential areas, including near schools, and therefore save lives.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: ‘Removing speed humps, which are proven to be an effective way of reducing road casualties, would increase risk to all road users, but especially to pedestrians, pedal cyclists and children, and are one of the key reasons why death and injury on our roads have fallen so substantially over the last few decades.”

The new plan was released after the High Court ruled the Government is breaking the law by not doing more to reduce air pollution.