Households could be banned from burning ‘dirty’ fuels in a bid to improve air quality.

Town halls will be given powers to prohibit the sale of highly-polluting wet wood and any coal that is not smokeless.

Wood-burning stoves, which are increasingly found in middle-class homes, have been blamed for toxic air.

Wood-burning stoves, which are increasingly found in middle-class homes, have been blamed for toxic air (file picture)

Launching a strategy to crack down on air pollution, Michael Gove will today say it shortens lives and is the fourth-biggest killer behind cancer, obesity and heart disease. The Environment Secretary’s blueprint includes:

Long-awaited powers for councils to charge drivers of diesel vehicles in congested areas;

A messaging system to alert the elderly and the vulnerable to the prospect of poor air conditions;

Moves to tackle toxic microplastics left behind by car tyres and brakes;

A warning that air pollution is contributing to a ‘national health crisis’.

Around 1.5million British homes have wood-burning stoves and 200,000 more are sold every year.

Many are marketed as green, but wood that has not been dried out burns at a lower temperature, creating more smoke and dangerous particles. A Government survey in 2016 found that 7.5 per cent of households in London burned wood.

Home fires are the single biggest source of particles that contribute to lung and heart disease. They are estimated to cause 29,000 early deaths a year. Around 38 per cent of UK emissions of damaging particles in the air are linked to the burning of wood and coal at home.

Launching a strategy to crack down on air pollution, Michael Gove (pictured yesterday) will say it shortens lives and is the fourth-biggest killer behind cancer, obesity and heart disease

New regulations could lay down the maximum moisture content of logs and stipulate more environmentally-friendly designs for stoves.

Councils will also have powers to ban coal which is not smokeless.

Government officials estimate that the measures will stop 8,000 tons of ‘harmful particulate matter’ entering the atmosphere every year.

Mr Gove is expected to say today that the plans will cut the cost to society of air pollution by as much as £2.5billion a year from 2030.

He will add: ‘Air quality has improved significantly since 2010 but 60 years on from the historic Clean Air Act a clear truth remains – air pollution is making people ill, shortening lives and damaging our economy and environment.

Mr Gove will say that 60 years on from the historic Clean Air Act air pollution is making people ill, shortening lives and damaging our environment

‘This is why today we are launching this clean air strategy, backed up with new primary legislation.

‘It sets out the comprehensive action required across all parts of government to improve air quality.

‘Government cannot act alone in tackling air pollution. Our strategy sets out how we will work with businesses, farmers, industry and households to develop innovative new solutions to reduce emissions.

‘It also highlights how we can all take action and play an important role in cleaning up our air.’

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Air pollution is contributing to a national health crisis.

‘If we fail to take decisive action, we risk more of our children suffering from asthma, and patients needlessly ending up in hospital.’

The blueprint will set out new standards for tyres and brakes that disintegrate and pollute our air and water with microplastics.

Highly-pollution vehicles in London now pay a daily charge imposed by Mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured) while diesel drivers in an ultra-low emissions zone will face a £12 charge next yaer

London mayor Sadiq Khan has imposed a £10 daily charge on highly-polluting vehicles. From next year diesel drivers who enter an ultra low emissions zone will face a £12 charge.

Up to 33 councils could be given powers to charge drivers of polluting vehicles, but only a handful are expected to use them.

Last night health campaigners welcomed the move but said vehicle emissions were the big issue and called for a diesel scrappage scheme.

Alison Cook of the British Lung Foundation warned ministers not to ‘lose focus on transport as a main culprit for air pollution’.

Oliver Hayes of Friends of the Earth said: ‘This is supposed to be a strategy to lower air pollution from a wide range of sources, but measures to reduce road traffic are conspicuous by their absence.

‘Road vehicles are a key source of deadly particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide pollution; failure to properly address this shows a fundamental lack of ambition.’

Council leaders welcomed the move but called for ‘robust national action’.

The ban on wet wood will not require an act of parliament and could come into force within months, on a gradual basis. A 1kg log can contain up to a pint of water, Environment Department officials said. The exact level for the ban has not been decided, but it could include all wood that contains more than 20 per cent moisture.