Watford has become the latest town to declare a "climate emergency".

Councillors on both sides of the chamber unanimously pledged to do everything within the council’s power to make the whole of Watford carbon neutral by 2030.

It also includes an action plan to making the town more sustainable, which is in addition to projects like reducing air pollution, and creating a new On Demand Bus Service and bike hire scheme.

Cllr Ian Stotesbury proposed the motion, which was seconded by Labour group leader Cllr Nigel Bell.

Cllr Stotesbury said: "Climate change is a universal threat, and a threat of our own making. We must continue to be bold and truly lead on this crucial issue. By doing so we can help our residents reduce their bills, help clean our air, and improve access healthier modes of transport.

"We can support local ecology, biodiversity and bring natural beauty to new areas. I’m really proud that we have been able to declare a climate emergency. It’s important we act now, before it is too late."

Cllr Bell added: "I am very pleased that Cllr Tim Williams and I were able to discuss our separate motions and come to an agreement on such an important issue affecting our town and the country. We need to show the willingness to our residents that we are prepared to not only set the relevant targets but actually do what we can by 2030 to make Watford carbon neutral."

Cllr Mark Hofman spoke about the need to introduce more electric vehicle charging points across Watford. He said "dirty air" is linked to around 40,000 premature deaths each year in the UK, and described the importance of phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles.

Three Rivers District Council has also declared a climate emergency - a motion was approved during a full council meeting in May.

Dozens of towns and cities across the UK have already declared "a climate emergency".

There is no single definition of what that means but many areas say they want to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

The government has targets to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.