A PROPOSED ban on the sale of wet wood from petrol station forecourts has provoked a strong reaction from Swindon campaigners.

Ministers launched their new clean air strategy this morning, proposing new restrictions on wood burning stoves, open fires and farms in a bid to reduce air pollution.

The sale of wet wood for burning at home may be banned, along with sales of traditional house coal.

Government says the strategy could save society £5.3bn by 2030 by tackling health conditions caused or worsened by poor air quality.

But campaigners have said the government needed to go further and do more to reduce pollution on the transport network

Old Town councillor and environmentalist Jane Milner-Barry pointed to airport expansion and delayed rail electrification plans: “In the face of all this I don’t think stopping the sale of damp firewood is going to achieve a great deal.”

Julian Jones, coordinator of Swindon Climate Action Network, said: “While the government plan and the local plan to address Kingshill air quality are welcome, overall the task must be to greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuelled car transport as quickly as possible - both to tackle air quality, but also climate change and other serious environmental issues. These issues mean transforming energy and food sectors to sustainable operations as well.”

Environment secretary Michael Gove said: “While air pollution may conjure images of traffic jams and exhaust fumes, transport is only one part of the story and the new strategy sets out the important role all of us - across all sectors of work and society - can play in reducing emissions and cleaning up our air to protect our health."