London breaches annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days

Brixton Road in Lambeth has already broken legal limits for toxic air for the entire year, with many other sites across the capital set to follow

London has breached its annual air pollution limits just five days into 2017, a "shameful reminder of the severity of London's air pollution", according to campaigners.

By law, hourly levels of toxic nitrogen dioxide must not be more than 200 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3) more than 18 times in a whole year, but late on Thursday this limit was broken on Brixton Road in Lambeth.