Man fighting road toll expansion

Mr Tarsh said the extension will affect surrounding areas

A west London man is planning to take on plans to extend the capital's congestion charge zone.

David Tarsh claims moving the boundaries to include Kensington and Chelsea, will simply push traffic into Hammersmith and Fulham where he lives.

The Mayor wants to increase the zone - which has cut traffic in central London - as early as 2006.

Mr Tarsh is collecting signatures for his petition against expansion at Hammersmith's Kings Mall.

A public consultation on the proposed widening of the zone ended on 15 July.

'Pleasant place'

Mr Tarsh said: "I may be just a single individual but I am determined to do what I can to stop the Mayor from doing something that is deeply unpopular, that will create a great deal of personal hardship and that is ill thought through.

"If the extension takes effect, through traffic will be pushed out of Kensington & Chelsea into the streets of Hammersmith & Fulham and will make the area a much less pleasant place to live."

The charge for entering central London's roads on weekdays rose from £5 to £8 recently.

Mr Livingstone said increasing the charge would prevent traffic levels from rising again.