Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants to encourage shopkeepers to use environmentally-friendly bikes to get their deliveries.

The man in charge of the capital visited Waltham Forest on Thursday to discuss air quality targets.

This comes as the borough announced it was registering nitrogen dioxide levels at an acceptable level everywhere apart from Crooked Billet.

The authority launched its Zero Emissions Delivery Service (ZED) in 2016 with money from the mayor’s air quality fund.

This sees delivery drivers ditch cars and vans and use bicycles instead.

Mr Khan visited businesses in Francis Road, Leyton, who will be using the service.

Mr Khan said council run programmes like ZED were the “future” and hopes more local councils will bid for part of the new £6 million funding to create more initiatives to reduce air pollution.

He said that what he really wanted to see in order to reduce toxic air in the capital were local initiatives to reduce the number of cars on the roads and pollution from construction sites.

But he admitted these measures might be hard for people to adapt to.

Mr Khan said: “Initially it will be an inconvenience, but we need to make it easier for communities to change their behaviour.

“Thousands of people are affected by air pollution and it costs the NHS billions of pounds. Look around the city, there are children with asthma and heart and lung problems.

“We can be the last generation that does nothing or the first generation that does something.”

This comes as he announced he would be launching an extra £6million for boroughs to create more initiatives like ZED to improve air quality.

Tiff Howick and Lucie Beeston, co-owners of gift shop Venner, which was set up in October 2017, began using the bicycle delivery service a few months after they opened.

Ms Howick said: “We are both passionate about clean air. We have a lot of friends and family here and as part of the community we think everyone is entitled to clean air.

“We want to do anything we can to improve air conditions and help children in the area by having more clean air.”

The pair use the delivery service once every couple of weeks, as well as encouraging their suppliers and customers to do the same.

Ms Howick said it is the same price as paying for a normally delivery service but even if it was more expensive they would pay.

She said: “It is all part of the way we run our business, we want to feel right about the way we earn a living.”

Ms Beeston added: “It is really important for us that we try to cut down on our emissions. Every little helps and our customers love the fact we use ZED.”

ZED now has 12 part-time riders who have cycled over 7000km and delivered around 8,000 packages.

Mother of two, Katie Robinson, of Leyton, has been working for the delivery service for six months.

Ms Robinson said: “I feel like I am going to work doing something important and I am really proud. It’s important for our future that the air is clean.

“It’s great for my sons to see me being out and doing something active.”

Mr Robinson also praised the scheme for helping her to build relationships with people in the community.

She said: “We can access the community because we are on bikes. People always stop me in the street, it’s getting better all the time.”