The new ULEZ scheme for London is set to be a huge money-spinner for the mayor, potentially raising more than £500 million a year from drivers.

The scheme came into effect on Monday and will hit drivers of polluting vehicles within the boundaries of the north and south circular roads with a daily charge of £12.50.

It covers part of Richmond borough, including parts of Barnes, Mortlake and Kew, which means residents in these areas will also – potentially - be caught if they get behind the wheel.

The intention is that it will hit drivers with older petrol and diesel vehicles with a charge – backed up by fines up to £160 for non-payment - if emissions are above a permitted limit.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London have attempted to play down the impact of the scheme, suggesting that more than 80per cent of vehicles will be exempt because their vehicles are already below the emissions threshold.

However, figures obtained by Nub News have revealed that it will generate hundreds of millions of pounds a year in charges.

Historically, the ULEZ covered central London and was typically capturing some 11,300 non-compliant vehicles a day. Following the extension of the scheme on Monday, this is expected to rise ten-fold to around 110,000 a day.

Based on a daily charge of £12.50, this adds up to £1.37m a day or just over £500 million over the 364 days it will operate each year – Christmas Day is exempt.

The number of people driving older vehicles in to the ULEZ area is likely to reduce over the coming months, however it seems likely that the scheme will still hit motorists with charges running to hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Richmond MPs and councillors made a failed attempt to win an exemption for people driving to the Townmead dump and the Mortlake crematorium. The mayor has suggested that people with older vehicles should switch to using a dump in Hounslow if they want to avoid the charge.

Sadiq Khan insists the ULEZ is a crucial step towards the capital becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030.

His office has provided £61 million in funding for grants for small businesses, charities operating minibuses and low-income and disabled Londoners to scrap their older, more polluting vehicles.

The Mayor said: "I pledged to be the greenest Mayor London's ever had and I am incredibly proud that expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone today will clean up London's toxic air pollution and help tackle the global climate emergency by reducing emissions.

"In central London, the ULEZ has already helped cut toxic roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution by nearly half and led to reductions that are five times greater than the national average. But pollution isn't just a central London problem, which is why expanding the ULEZ will benefit Londoners across the whole of the city."