Protest against air pollution at Hampden Park level crossing

The campaigners gathered at the spot clad with placards to encourage motorists to turn their engines off as they wait for the barriers to rise.

A spokesperson for Eastbourne Friends of the Earth said, “Many drivers leave their engines idling instead of switching them off – despite official advice to do so if traffic is stationary for more than a few minutes, which it usually is at the very busy Hampden Park crossing, where 16 trains an hour now pass through.

“Stationary vehicles that keep engines running for minutes on end expose nearby residents, pedestrians, and drivers themselves, to high levels of toxic exhaust gases that have a significant harmful effect upon physical health, especially upon the health and development of children.”

The group also marked Clean Air Day by handing over an air monitor, built by Clean Air Eastbourne’s volunteers, to Bourne School this morning.

The monitor is free for the school, thanks to a grant for Clean Air Eastbourne’s project in the Devonshire West area from the Devonshire West Big Local.

The monitor will measure particulates (very small air particles).

According to Public Health England, about 61 people a year in Eastbourne die prematurely from particulate air pollution, most of which, at street level, comes from local diesel traffic.

A Clean Air Schools Pack produced by Friends of the Earth will also be handed over to the school.

Photos by Dan Jessup.