MORE than a third of cars on the town’s roads are still diesel-powered, according to new figures.

Statistics from the Department for Transport and the DVLA showed that 41,506 diesel cars were registered in Warrington in 2017 – up 1,244 on the previous year.

That means that 38 per cent of cars on the town’s roads were diesel-powered.

A further 10,734 diesel vans were also in use in Warrington last year, according to the figures.

The government has announced plans to ban sales of new diesel cars by 2040 in a bid to encourage motorists to use cleaner fuels.

Cars powered solely by petrol will also be outlawed under the proposals.

In total, 129,605 vehicles were registered in the town last year – 460 fewer than in 2016.

Simon Williams from the RAC said: “The number of registered petrol cars reached a peak in 2004 and then began to fall as more people opted for diesel, to the point where we now have 12.3m on Britain’s roads.

“The tide has now begun to turn as motorists go back to petrol or choose an alternatively fuelled vehicle as a result of emissions from diesel vehicles being found to be harmful to health.

“We are unlikely to see the number of registered diesel cars peak for a few years as, while sales of new diesels have declined, they are still contributing to their overall numbers rising as they far outweigh those being scrapped.”