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Petrol and diesel cars are set to be completely banned from a busy London street under plans for Britain’s first 24-hour zero-emissions road.

Such vehicles are to be rerouted using advance warnings and signage on the approach to the Barbican Estate’s Beech Street in the City.

The City of London Corporation (CLC) said the measure would be achieved with an 18-month experimental traffic order. This would allow air quality and traffic to be monitored as the plans to help “eliminate toxic air” get under way, it said.

Emergency, refuse collection and delivery vehicles will all be exempted from the order.

Beech Street, which runs largely in a tunnel beneath the Barbican estate, and will be in place for 24 hours a day for all seven days of the week.

CLC environment committee chair Jeremy Simons said: "Drastically reducing air pollution requires radical actions, and these plans will help us eliminate toxic air on our streets."