South Northamptonshire was ranked just outside the top 10 per cent of areas for the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted, in a survey of all local authorities in the UK.

The Energy Saving Trust, a non-profit organisation that carried out the research, found households in the district emitted 215,835 tonnes of CO2 per year, slightly above average.

More damningly, however, domestic vehicles in south Northants emitted 197,632 tonnes of CO2 a year, placing its drivers among the most polluting in the country.

Two years ago the A5 road through Towcester was declared an Air Quality Management Area because of high levels of nitrogen dioxide from car and lorry exhaust fumes.

A spokeswoman for the district council said the rural nature of the local authority meant residents were more reliant on their cars than those living in urban areas.

She said: "South Northamptonshire covers a large rural area and the main arterial routes M1, M40, A43 and the A5 mean that car and lorry emissions are higher than average. For many residents a private car is the only option."

She added: "Wherever we can we promote the use of public transport, walking or cycling or car sharing. We are also negotiating with major fleet hauliers to ask them to re-route heavy goods vehicles along the M1 motorway rather than through Towcester."

Households in Northampton pumped out slightly less CO2 than the UK average. Households and vehicles in the town were responsible for 741,294 tonnes of the greenhouse gas, making it 129th out of 434 in a table of best performing local authorities.

Councillor Trini Crake (Lib Dem, Boughton Green), cabinet member for environment, said the council was doing its bit locally.

She said: "The first step in tackling our carbon footprint is to understand how much carbon we emit as a council and where it comes from.

"We've recently carried out a full assessment, with help from the Carbon Trust who we are working closely with. Now we are developing our plan to reduce our emissions with a range of projects starting in the new year."

According to the survey households and vehicles in Daventry District also produce more than average CO2 emissions, ranking the area the 71st worst.

In England the place with the highest CO2 emissions per household is south Buckinghamshire. The City of London was the lowest polluting area.

mark.waffel@northantsnews.co.uk