POLLUTION-busting equipment which could save fuel and the environment is being tried out for the first time in York.

The equipment is being used in six diesel vehicles by the City of York Council, a major player in the year-long Planet York initiative.

It is similar to that currently being tested in the city through another council initiative which is trying to improve the exhaust emissions from the Norwich Union's LPG-powered minibus.

However, this is the first time that diesel engines have been given the treatment in the UK. The council believes it will reduce the exhaust pollution from the vehicles by between 80 and 90 per cent - and save fuel in the process.

The equipment has been developed by Surrey-based company Emissions Technology.

It introduces minute quantities of catalysts, as found in exhaust catalytic converters, into the engine's combustion chamber, where they help the fuel to burn more completely.

This reduces the amount of pollution released into the atmosphere. The council has also involved North Yorkshire Police, Streamline Taxis and the Road Haulage Association and each organisation will be testing the equipment in their own vehicles over the next few months.

The trial will gauge the effectiveness of the equipment before its official UK launch.

Coun Derek Smallwood, the council's executive member for the environment, said: "The council is striving to lead the way for individuals and fleet operators in the city, and indeed the rest of the country, to show them that exhaust pollution is not a necessary evil and can be reduced. Work by the council's environment and development services department is helping to get people to leave their cars at home and walk or take the bus so we must also encourage people to own cleaner, more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

"This all works towards the aims of our Local Agenda 21 initiative which aims to promote sustainability in everything we do."

The City of York Council is a major player in the year-long Planet York initiative which is showing how even one city can contribute to efforts to reduce climate change.

Updated: 14:22 Thursday, February 28, 2002