Newcastle City Council's air pollution warning badge plan Published duration 2 November 2019

image copyright Getty Images image caption Councils on Tyneside are consulting on ways to improve air quality

Children in Newcastle could be issued with special badges that will warn if they are being exposed to high levels of air pollution on the school run.

The proposal is part of the city council's plans to improve air quality.

The badges would degrade more quickly if the air around them was filled with toxic pollutants.

The authority said the move could help raise awareness of the "invisible killer", which it says is linked to hundreds of deaths on Tyneside a year.

It would also highlight the pollution problems caused by parents using their cars to pick up and drop off their children at school, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: "Tackling pollution is not just about the measures that councils can introduce - it is about the things that everyone can do as individuals to make a difference.

"One of the things we have looked at is the possible use of materials that change, based on the amount of pollution in the air, on things such as badges or posters to enable people to see the impact of something that is, in effect, an invisible killer."

Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside Councils are considering introducing Clean Air zones and tolls in an effort to reduce pollution created by high emission vehicles.