A PRIMARY school in Colchester is in an area with potentially dangerous levels of air pollution, research has revealed.

The area around North Primary School, in John Harper Street, has 76 tons of nitrogen dioxide per square kilometre per year – some 18 times to national average.

According to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, it is one of 3,000 schools in the UK in an area with high levels of diesel emissions.

North Primary School is close to congested roads including Cowdray Avenue, Westway, the Colne Bank Avenue and North Station Road.

Research shows a high level of nitrogen dioxide can inflame the airways in the lungs and affect breathing over a long period. It is particularly harmful to asthma sufferers.

Mark Goacher, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Colchester in May’s general election, said: “To have such a high level around a primary school is particularly disturbing.

“People need to use their cars less and there needs to be more car sharing.

“Particularly when you see people in their cars in jams around Colchester there is mostly one person in one car with lots of space to spare.

“The long-term solution is to find an alternative to diesel.”

Colchester Council is the authority in charge of air pollution and has monitors set up around the town to measure the air quality.

Tim Young, councillor responsible for community safety, said: “We work with the bus companies to make sure they are using vehicles which are cleaner for the environment.

“We are doing as much as we can to encourage people to walk and to use public transport.

“The introduction of the park and ride will also help reduce emissions.

“These sorts of figures will allow us to take more radical action in the future.

“We monitor the figures but they are not getting any better and this may allow us to work with the county council as the highways authority to make it cleaner.”

Ian Colbeck, Essex University’s air pollution expert professor, said he believed emissions would dilute across less built-up areas.

He said: “The levels on North Station Road measured last year were quite good for Colchester.”

Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s councillor responsible for education, said: “We are trying to reduce congestion on the county’s roads by promoting sustainable transport options such as the new Colchester Park and Ride.”

Alan Garnett, headteacher of North Primary School, was unavailable for comment.