The city council says it will be the first in the country to bring in the spot-checks when they begin in February.

Police and council will carry out random tests and drivers with illegal level of fumes emitted from cars or other vehicles will be fined.

The tests, which are similar to those carried out during MOT tests, will take place on 12 days each year.

'Driver-friendly'

Drivers who leave their engines running unnecessarily when their vehicle is parked could also face fines.

Leicester City Council, which calls itself Britain's first Environment City, said the emphasis was on being "motorist-friendly".

Incentives are given to fix any problems quickly

It has announced there will be a number of drive-in sessions across the city to allow drivers to have their cars checked without fear of a fine before the spot-checks begin.

These will take place between 1 February and 13 February.

Evan Davies, head of pollution control at the council, said: "As many as 24,000 premature deaths occur in the UK each year from pollution.

"It is therefore important that we work to improve air quality to protect people's health.

"It is estimated that 75% of pollution is caused by 25% of vehicles."

Fines will be reduced for those people who fix the problem quickly.