AROUND £20,000 of taxpayers' money will be spent on planting new trees in Worcester under a pollution-busting bid.

Worcester Green Party has secured a city council deal on sinking the cash into locating trees at 'key locations' to collect up grime from diesel engines.

The Worcester News can reveal how Dolday is expected to be the main area to benefit - a route named and shamed as the city's worst pollution hotspot by experts.

Back in October we exclusively revealed how fumes along the street, which connects to the city centre, had got so bad that people are being exposed to illegal levels of grime in excess of EU limits.

The damning verdict from Worcestershire Regulatory Services has concerned city councillors, leading to talks about new solutions.

The planting idea is expected to make Dolday a key focus, with the prospect of it becoming tree-lined, although it will also involve a broader look at the rest of the city.

Green Councillor Louis Stephen said: "We want to concentrate on the areas of worst air quality so we can reduce the levels of pollution.

"Studies have been done across the world looking at how trees impact on pollution, and they have found that some type of trees collect up the dust, soot and grime from diesel cars.

"It's the same effect as converting all the buses and taxis to petrol."

Worcester News:

Some studies have shown how air quality can improve by almost a quarter, if the right trees are put in the right places.

The £20,000 is expected to pay for at least 10 trees, although it could lead to deals being struck with other organisations to extend the impact.

The fund, which is included in the new 2017/18 budget, has been agreed by the Conservative and Labour parties.

Tory Councillor Roger Knight, a former Mayor of Worcester, helped launched a project to get 2,500 of them planted across the city during his time in office.

"We haven't got to spend huge amounts of money buying stock, it's about making sure they are in the right places and achieve what we want them to achieve," he said.

"We can't limit it to one area either, we must take a broad view."

Labour Councillor Lynn Denham, cabinet member for sustainable communities, added: "We have a number of Air Quality Management Areas in Worcester, it's a serious health issue - we're happy to support anything that makes a difference."