RESIDENTS in west London have suffered high levels of pollution from traffic for many years due to travellers driving to Heathrow and shoppers attracted to the many retail opportunities.

Air pollution is worst by busy roads and is the main reason Londoners have been breathing illegal polluted air for years now, despite tough European legislation.

I've been working to improve air pollution since I was elected to the London Assembly in 2000. It is the silent killer in London: the mayor of London's health impact study estimated the equivalent of 4,267 deaths in 2008 were attributable to long-term air pollution.

Research has shown that those who live on busy roads, or children who go to school close to busy roads have increased respiratory illnesses.

Studies carried out in the US even suggested children's lungs are smaller and do not fully develop if they live on or go to school close to busy roads. Recent information released by the Campaign for Clean Air in London showed 65 schools within 400m of roads with an estimated daily flow of greater than 100,000 vehicles. Many of them are in west London and some are even within 150m of such major roads.

To protect Londoners from the dangers of air pollution and avoid the UK being fined £300million, the London mayor must act now.

This problem can be solved if the political will is there. First, Heathrow cannot be expanded without London breaching European limits.

Second, the mayor needs to implement a very low emission zone across central London.

Third, the volume of traffic needs to be reduced by keeping bus and Tube fares low and introducing road pricing on the most congested roads.

After two-and-a-half years of delay over a plan for reducing air pollution, the mayor has published a final version of his air quality strategy, which by his own admission doesn't do the job.

According to the mayor's figures, his plans to reduce air pollution won't meet European legal limits in 85 to 90 per cent of locations identified as nitrogen dioxide hotspots, many in west London.

DARREN JOHNSON London Assembly Green Party member