Premature deaths from air pollution could have been dramatically cut if official targets to get more people to walk and cycle had been met, campaigners have claimed.
The walking and cycling charity Sustrans says that if England and Scotland had met their targets 13,000 deaths would have been prevented in the last ten years.
The group says there would have been £9.31bn of benefits to the economy over the same period.
Sustrans has launched a new model to measure the benefits of improving air quality which it says will support local authorities in making the case for investment in walking and cycling
Its CEO Xavier Brice said: 'We’re urging governments at all levels to include funding for walking and cycling infrastructure in their clean air plans and for the UK Government to prioritise investment in active travel as part of wider urgent action to make air safe again.'
