Winchester'S fleet of public buses has been given a partial overhaul in a bid to cut pollution.

The steps have been taken by operators Stagecoach in partnership with the MIRACLES project run by Hampshire County Council and are aimed at reducing particulate pollution in the city's air.

In 2003 Winchester City Council was forced to draw up an Air Quality Management Action Plan after tests found pollution levels in the centre to be too high. Now the exhaust systems on all of Winchester's park-and-ride buses have been replaced with more environmentally friendly systems that cut pollutants from the gases, and will help ease pollution levels in the heart of the city.

Ten of the older single deck buses used on normal routes by Stagecoach have also been fitted with new pollution-cutting engines that have the same emission levels as the newest buses on UK streets.

In order to get the greatest benefits from the park-and-ride buses, normally only seen on the Winchester City route from Mondays to Saturdays, they will also now be put to work on Sundays on normal routes around the county.

Transport chiefs in the city say they hope this will not only help advertise Winchester's park and ride service, but by giving the vehicles the chance for a higher speed run at the weekends, will ensure they operate at peak efficiency during the week.