Vandals slash protest banner in Storrington

The banner was erected by the newly-formed Storrington Traffic Action Group - STAG - which is campaigning to curb traffic and cut pollution in the village.

Storrington has suffered high levels of pollution for years and an ‘Air Quality Management Area’ has been in effect since 2010.

The protest banner - sited on a fence in West Street - carried the message: “Air pollution cuts average UK life expectancy by 1.5 years. Storrington has the worst air pollution in the south east. Its main source is serial rat-running to save only 2.5 miles.”

A spokesman for STAG said: “Although in the current Covid-19 lockdown the amount of air pollution due to vehicles in the village centre is much reduced, it will return when restrictions are lifted.

“We hope that some of the reduction will be permanent, due to home-based working replacing commuting by car.

“Because of the reduction in traffic on the A27 and A259 there is probably no longer any economic or time-saving reason for using Storrington as a rat-run.

“We will install banners in locations around the village to ensure that our message continues to be seen.”

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