Hertfordshire County Council road maintenance crews are doing nothing for the authority’s ‘climate emergency’ credentials by leaving their engines idling.

This is the claim of Matt Mountain, a management consultant from Rickmansworth, who says he has photographed vans, cars and trucks parked with their engines running in Maple Cross and Rickmansworth.

One of Mr Mountain’s photos shows a van which displays the Hertfordshire County Council logo on it parked in Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth.

Another image shows a truck displaying “highway maintenance” in Denham Road, Maple Cross.

However, the council said this one did not belong to them.

Hertfordshire County Council this month declared a climate emergency and pledged to improve its environmental sustainability.

But Mr Mountain felt the council was not a “champion of the environment”.

The council does not currently have requirements around vehicle idling.

Mr Mountain said: “The council are letting cars idle and it is not right.

“Drivers should stop their engines when they are not running.”

A spokesperson from the council said: “We would encourage all drivers to always turn off their engines whenever possible to reduce the pollution caused by unnecessary idling, but please note that sometimes the engine of a vehicle is required to run to operate ancillary equipment onboard.”