A hi-tech device has been installed in the centre of Devizes to monitor the air quality.

The £25,000 analyser measures pollution levels to compare it to European Union limits.

Wiltshire Council has put the device on top of a cabinet outside the Reading Matters book shop on the corner of Sidmouth Street and Gains Lane.

Wiltshire councillor Jeff Ody said: “Certain locations in Devizes are getting close to the EU legal maximum pollution levels. The two main locations are at the Shane’s Castle junction at Bath Road and Dunkirk Hill and near to Gains Lane.

“The advantage of this device is that it measures in real time the current levels of pollution from traffic in these locations. The results will be compared with the EU levels and if they are close to the levels we will consider whether measures can be taken to reduce the pollution.”

Coun Ody said other devices, called diffusion tubes, are currently installed at 16 other sites around Devizes, including Shane’s Castle, to measure the air pollution but these only give a monthly average of nitrogen dioxide levels.

Coun Ody said: “The analyser device is more sophisticated than the diffusion tube monitors. It recalculates the air quality content every 15 minutes and the results can then be compared with the UK air quality objectives.”