CANTERBURY has been placed near the bottom of a league table of cities for having a negative affect on the environment.

It follows a study by the World Wildlife Fund which says its residents are creating a poor “eco-footprint” by using more than their fair share of natural resources.

The WWF report investigated 60 cities using recently-released Government statistics covering transport, housing, consumer goods and public and private services.

It placed Canterbury in the bottom five for housing, consumer items and private services.

Head of campaigns at WWF-UK, Colin Butfield, said: “Canterbury needs to green up its act because it is a damning picture. Even the better performing cities are consuming too many natural resources.”

He added: “The battle for the environment will be won or lost in our cities. They have the highest potential for eco-living due to local facilities, public transport links, dense housing and shared public resources.”

The WWF is recommending that everyone takes steps to reduce their ecological footprint, which can be calculated by visiting wwww.wwf.org.uk/calculator, and then devise plans to reduce it.

The city council says it very conscious of the need for sustainable energy and prides itself on its care for the environment.

But spokesman Rob Davies said this week that it could not police how individual residents lived their lives.