DRIVERS stuck in traffic jams in a Hampshire village are being urged to switch off their engines in a bid to improve air quality.

Banners emblazoned with the message “Stop the pollution, here’s a solution” are being unveiled in Lyndhurst as the area looks ahead to another summer likely to be marred by major congestion.

The hard-hitting message is aimed at motorists trapped in long queues at the junction of High Street and Romsey Road.

Tall buildings near the busy junction are said to create a tunnel effect, trapping the fumes belching from the exhausts of stationary vehicles.

Lyndhurst is one of Hampshire’s biggest bottlenecks during the tourist season, with queues often stretching for several miles on weekends and bank holidays.

Tailbacks have been known to extend as far north as the Cadnam roundabout as thousands of families wait to enter the Forest.

New Forest District Council (NFDC) has worked with Hampshire County Council (HCC), and teachers and pupils at Hounsdown School in Totton to develop the new banners, which will be unveiled tomorrow.

It comes amid increasing concern about poor air quality and its impact on public health in towns and cities across the south.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Southampton has been ranked as the eighth most polluted city in the UK.

Last September a huge poster that said “Welcome to Southampton - roads so polluted they’ll leave you breathless” was produced by green campaigners was plastered across a billboard on Bevois Valley Road.

Lyndhurst has been an air quality management area since 2005.

Rachel Higgins, NFDC’s environmental protection team manager, said: “While improvements in pollution levels have been made we want to encourage visitors and the local community to do their bit and turn off their engines whilst waiting in stationary traffic.”

The two councils have already asked school bus drivers to turn off their engines when collecting pupils.

The new banners follow a similar initiative at Junction Road, Totton, where pollution levels soar when drivers stop at the level crossing, which is closed to traffic for a total of 20 minutes every hour.

Signs urging drivers to switch off their engines while they wait for the barriers to go up were installed several years ago.

Last night Totton councillor David Harrison repeated his call for passenger services to be reintroduced on the old Totton to Fawley railway.

Asked about the Lyndhurst scheme he said: “While all actions are welcome, signage asking people to switch off idling engines has had little impact in other areas, including Junction Road.

“Greater success will be had by improving public transport in and around the Forest.”