A campaign group trying to stop the Silvertown tunnel scheme say that this week’s Saharan dust cloud should be a reminder that vehicle exhaust emissions are an invisi ble hazard to health.

The No to Silvertown Tunnel campaign group has urged politicians to “get the sand out of their eyes” and accept that building new roads will only make air pollution worse.

Darryl Chamberlain, campaign spokesman, said: “The Saharan dust cloud is natural, but the pollution caused by traffic is man-made.

“Joggers have been told not to take their exercise, but nobody is addressing the root cause of air pollution. That is motor traffic.

“Instead, we have local politicians who want to make matters worse by building a Silvertown road tunnel, even though there is not a shred of evidence that it will bring real economic benefits.”