FOR years, residents in Middlesbrough have endured jibes about the quality of the air in the town, which has the largest petro-chemical complex in western Europe.

But now Middlesbrough Council plans to consign that to history with an air quality action plan.

Jeff Duffield, group leader of the council's environmental health team, said Middlesbrough is already meeting Government targets, unlike 100 towns and cities elsewhere in Britain which have had to declare air quality management areas.

Middlesbrough has on average 355 days a year when its air quality is classed as "good" or better.

About five million people in the UK live in areas where air pollution exceeds recommended levels.

Mr Duffield said: "Middlesbrough's record on the environment and air quality is one of achievement over several decades, but we are actually aware that we face new challenges, particularly from global warming and the increase in greenhouse gases.

"The action plan will allow us to assess, and the people of Middlesbrough to judge, how we are meeting these challenges."

Ann Harrison, spokeswoman for the Teesside Asthma Society, welcomed the action plan.

"It is not just air quality, there are a lot of other triggers for asthma; but something like this can only help. If it is a day of poor air quality it is going to affect your asthma."

Pollution blown across the North Sea from Europe was blamed for a layer of smog which shrouded Teesside for three times in one week in July 2000, sparking health concerns.

The amount of micoscopic dust particles - PM10s - and ozone in the atmosphere, breached safety standards leading the council to issue warnings to asthmatics, the elderly and joggers.

There were pleas to people to put off applying creosote to garden fences or painting the outside of their houses.

The problem was caused by air-blown particles from the continent combined with pollution from Teesside becoming trapped in the low lying river valley of the Tees.