A PRIMARY school in Bingley has launched a new campaign urging parents to switch off their engines when parked up around the school.

Myrtle Park Primary School has teamed up with local neighbourhood police for the anti-idling campaign, in an effort to cut the amount of air pollution close to the school.

Members of the school council at Myrtle Park, along with headteacher Sarah Crowther, have been working together with local design studio DO Creative to produce banners, leaflets and adverts promoting the campaign.

The banners will be displayed permanently outside the school, and leaflets and adverts have also been placed in the school playground and in school newsletters to promote the message.

In the past, campaigns have been run alongside police elsewhere in the district to try and tackle dangerous, inconsiderate and illegal parking around schools by parents dropping off and picking up their children, but this is the first campaign specifically targeting idling.

Darren Marshall, creative director at DO Creative, said he hopes the campaign will spread to other schools in the town.

Sarah Crowther said: “It first stemmed from the Aire Valley incinerator, and a parent who has been heavily involved in that.

“We discussed getting the school council involved and they looked at how the issue can be looked at in the school community.

“We want to raise awareness in the school to make people aware idling is an offence, and hopefully it can go district wide and make Bradford’s air cleaner.

“The next step is working with the Council and other schools to roll it out and we want to share our message with other schools.”

The Bradford Green Party has supported the school’s campaign.

Matt Edwards, campaigns coordinator, said: “Children and older people are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution.

“Not enough is being done to tackle the problem of air pollution here in Bradford District.

“Anti-idling zones play an important part in reducing the air pollution from cars and we welcome any campaign that looks to bring this to our district.

Idling is the act of a driver leaving the engine running while a car is stationary.

By doing this more fumes are released into the air, containing harmful gases such as carbon dioxide which damages the environment, and other gases and micro-particles which can lead to diseases and health problems.

The RAC said idling is a motoring offence under the Highway Code, and drivers who leave their engines running unnecessarily can be fined £20 by the Council.

The RAC added that switching your engine off does not harm fuel economy, and the organisation has run its own successful anti-idling campaigns in other parts of the UK.

The state of Bradford’s air has long been an important issue across the district, with emissions and pollutions from vehicles a major contributing factor to high levels of pollution in some areas of the district.

Last April, Bradford was named as one of the most polluted cities in the UK, and in October, Bradford Council was ordered to take real action to reduce pollution on the city’s roads by the Government.

A new campaign, called Clean Air Bradford, was launched recently as Bradford Council forms its plan to cut pollution.