'CityTree' devices that hoover up pollutants and dust, offering the 'cleaning power' of 275 trees, are coming to the borough's streets.

The devices include fans and a bank of moss that collects toxins, such as nitrous oxide, and greenhouse gases, while pumping out cleaner, cooler air.

The idea is that they can scrub the air in pollution hot spots such as busy roads around sensitive areas, such as schools.

It is understood that one of the first of these CityTrees, which were developed by the Germany company, Green City Solutions, will be installed close to the new Lidl and Deer Park School on the Richmond Road in East Twickenham.

It one of a series of improvements to the streets, junctions and pavements in the area, which will include planting a number of real trees and making it more attractive and safer for pedestrians.

The route is often clogged with traffic using Richmond Bridge for people travelling between Richmond and Twickenham.

CityTrees – dubbed 'the world's first biotech pollution filter' – are surrounded by a wooden slatted carcass. They can include seating areas and potentially, smart screens providing information on the local area and services.

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They are effectively self-sufficient and contain banks of moss plus a water tank with automatic irrigation and plant sensors. They are powered by onboard solar panels and batteries.

The different types of moss bind environmental toxins such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides while at the same time producing oxygen.

A small number of the devices are already in operation in Wandsworth, Putney, East London and around the world in cities from Berlin to Hong Kong.

The leader of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned that air pollution has been linked to countless health issues, including the development of children's brains and the health of babies.

In the UK alone, the government estimates that the problem is linked to 36,000 deaths, while the Royal College of Physicians estimates it costs the UK economy £20 billion per year.

How it works

A single CityTree panel stands 4m tall and 3m wide and is claimed to offset the equivalent of 240 tons of CO2 equivalents per year, doing the work of 275 urban trees, yet taking only a tiny fraction of the space

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The different types of moss, which includes pseudoscleropodium purum, reduce toxins in the surrounding air and give out oxygen, making 'micro-environments of cleaner air that benefit residents and passers-by'.

The system works by using fans to draw in polluted, warm air, which flows through eight large panels of living moss. Moss has lots of fine hairs, resulting in a large surface area which is able to trap fine particles.

The process not only removes these particles but also purifies and cools the air which is then recirculated back into the atmosphere at ground level giving people cleaner and purer air to breathe minus hazardous particulates.

The CityTree can reduce fine dust pollution in its immediate vicinity by up to 53%. They filter 5,000 cubic metres of air every hour, which corresponds to the hourly breathing volume of approx. 10000 people.

The device can cool the temperature in its immediate vicinity by up to 4° C on warm days.