Westminster City Council is removing prime parking spots for coaches after drivers ignored previous warnings to turn off their engines while parked.

The council said it was taking the ‘drastic action’ after the country’s biggest coach companies failed to take action against idling drivers.

The three spots will now be replaced with electric vehicle charging points, resident parking and cycling hangars.

Cllr Tim Mitchell, deputy leader of the council, said: ‘There is no sugar-coating the need to tackle traffic emissions in Westminster, so if we’re truly going to challenge this head on, then we have no choice but to take drastic action such as this.

‘We threatened to remove these spaces and have now done so, and I hope that this is a clear message to coach operators that they need to work with us to clamp down on engine idling. With hundreds of coaches travelling into the city every day, this small change from drivers would help steer us towards a cleaner, greener London.’