SPEED humps could be flattened on Oxfordshire’s roads as part of a plan to reduce emissions levels throughout the country.

The Government has mooted measures which could see contentious humps removed from roads, and Oxfordshire County Council’s traffic chief has admitted they could go as part of a wider plan.

The proposal has proved a hit with some Oxford residents, who have made their opposition to the traffic-calming measures clear.

Blackbird Leys Parish Council chairman Gordon Roper said he wants to see humps removed as quickly as possible and that they have proved more trouble than they are worth since they were built in 1975.

He said: “No one takes any notice of them. They’re more of a hazard for fire brigades and ambulances. There are vital seconds being lost by the speed bumps. They did their bit but now it is time for them to go.

“No one slows down and they are not a deterrent. The speed some people do. They make sure the wheels are at lowest part either side of the bump and they just go straight over.

“The humps in Blackbird Leys are just a waste of time. Everywhere around here is a 20mph limit so there’s no need for speed bumps. People should just adhere to the limit.”

A survey carried out by The Times found Oxford city centre was the 13th worst area for air quality in UK and the eighth worst outside London.

The Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said new fuels, encouraging a wider use of public transport and boosting the take-up of electrical cars could be used alongside scrapping humps to cuts down emissions.

But a business owner whose tattoo shop campaigned to get humps installed outside his shop insisted they remain.

Daniel Hall, who owns Oxford Ink on The Roundway in Headington, said: “There are a lot of kids who play outside, and getting rid of speed humps would make people speed. It’s a silly idea.

“The council spent thousands of pounds on putting road humps in, now to turn around and spend more on digging the roads up. What about all the money digging them up again?

“They’ll cause more traffic problems as they queue in single lanes while they’re digging road up for months.”

According to information from local authorities, the average cost of a speed hump which will stretch across a 7.3 metre road is about £2,300.

But Oxfordshire County Council said any cost of humps – which it claims have cut accidents by half in some areas – are taken from community pots meant to improve new estates and cost the taxpayer nothing.

Yvonne Constance, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said the move is a possibility.

She said: “There is a very big plan to cut down on pollution and I am sure getting rid of speed humps would be considered but it is not flagged up as a single item.

“We don’t know exactly what we will do yet because it all has to be looked at in great detail. We have to decide whether it will be applied to all roads, and look at the picture road by road.”

Jenny Bates, Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner, warned that other measures need to be looked at in addition to simply removing speed bumps.

She said: “Changes to traffic calming measures can help with air pollution, but there’s no point in throwing the baby out with the bath water.

“If speed humps are removed, and not replaced with other, as effective, traffic calming measures, then are we just swapping protecting children’s lungs with protecting their safety on the roads? Clearly we need to do both.”