Following the announcement of a proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in Central London that would see an extra £10 charge for the most polluting diesel cars coming into force in addition to the existing Congestion Charge, an online poll of over 2,000 motorists by the car supermarket found 75.4% of people quizzed wouldn’t be prepared to pay more in taxes in order to help local authorities meet tough European clean air targets by 2020.

The survey comes as other cities are thought to be considering similar drastic moves as they attempt to avoid heavy fines imposed by regulators in Brussels for breaching air pollution targets after 2020.

Mark Carpenter, managing director of Motorpoint, said: ‘The results of our latest online poll clearly show that the vast majority of motorists object to yet another tax being levied on them every time they get behind the wheel of their car.

‘Everyone agrees that more needs to be done to reduce air pollution levels but hitting owners of diesel cars, many of whom have consciously bought those vehicles for their economical as well as environmental benefits, definitely isn’t the answer. More thought needs to go into solutions that don’t involve slapping extra charges on easy targets like motorists.’