ELDERLY drivers and recovery vehicles could be exempt from proposed new regulations to stop people running their engines while their cars are stationary.

Council chiefs in Darlington are considering introducing the controversial measure in an effort to cut down on pollution.

From early next year, teams of uniformed wardens could be given the power to hand out £20 fixed penalty notices to motorists who don't turn off their engines while stationary.

The measure is likely to have its strongest impact on people waiting outside shops or collecting children from schools.

In a report being considered by Darlington Transport Forum it is made clear that the wardens would be ordered to use a common sense approach when giving out fines and four possible exemptions are given.

These are taxi drivers and old or disabled people running car engines to keep warm, recovery vehicles carrying out work and people running the engine while defrosting their windscreen.

Other vehicles, such as those running refrigeration equipment, are already allowed by law to keep their engines running when they are stationary.

The borough council is expected to approve the measure next month, but officials have stressed that fines will be a last resort. Similar schemes are already in force elsewhere in the country, but this is believed to be the first in the North-East.