Fine motorists idling outside schools to cut air pollution, say health watchdogs

New official guidance also backs planting trees, supporting cycling and encouraging take-up of electric vehicles to tackle crisis that causes 40,000 early deaths a year

Parents who leave their car engines running at the school gate should be fined in order to help tackle the air pollution crisis, according to England's official health watchdogs.

New guidance from Public Health England (PHE) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) sets out a wide range of measures to cut air pollution, which is at illegal levels in almost 90% of urban areas.