Powys has been named as the worst polluting local authority in Wales in a new report published today.

The research has been conducted by the Energy Saving Trust.

They have combined its own figures on car emissions with Defra’s figures on household emissions to form a comprehensive study of the worst polluters across the country.

Powys is the worst performing Welsh authority with the level of CO2 emissions at 11.8 tonnes per household a year.

The high amount of vehicle use in such a rural area is being blamed.

County Down, in Northern Ireland, is the highest polluter in the UK with an average carbon emissions per household, including transport, of 14.5 tonnes a year.

South Buckinghamshire is the worst English polluter with an average of 13.4 tonnes while the Orkney Islands is the worst in Scotland producing an average of 12.9 tonnes.

The report says they are rural areas with limited public transport so there is a high use of cars.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said today: “While it is disappointing to see the county at the wrong end of the table it is not surprising in a large rural county where there is a greater dependency on cars.

“However, the county has been one of Wales’ leading waste recyclers in recent years with more than 40 per cent of municipal waste recycle or composted.

Unsurprisingly, the City of London has the lowest level of carbon emissions because it has the fewest number of households and the fewest number of cars.