Part of Kent may soon join London in rejecting taxi licence applications if a driver doesn't own a hybrid, electric, or low emissions vehicle.

Maidstone Borough Council is looking to introduce the policy to tackle air pollution.

The regulations could be imposed in the County Town from January 2019, depending on the findings of a survey.

However, taxi drivers have called the move potentially devastating to their industry with concerns surrounding the policy's implementation.

Fears have been expressed about the costs in purchasing and maintaining greener forms of transport.

Neil Cox, chairman of the Maidstone Taxi Proprietors Association, said: "The problem we have with this proposal is it requires nearly all of us to change our vehicles in just over two years time.

"There's only one choice left for us, and that is the London taxi which costs £56,000," he added.

The newest London taxi model - the TX - is priced at £55,599 with a business lease of £177 per week on a five-year deal.

Other than paying for the vehicle, it's feared extra costs incurred for charging will further threaten the business.

Mr Cox added: "What if there's nowhere to charge up? If you don't have a charging point in your house, how are you going to charge up at night? Instantly, you could be out of work and have a £56,000 vehicle to pay for."

The current proposals are open for feedback until Sunday. The results of which will be used to inform future council policy on the environment.

"The most significant cause of poor air quality is known to come from vehicles," said Maidstone councillor Derek Mortimer.

"In addition to introducing programmes like our Clean Air for Schools monitoring project the council is working with companies like Arriva and Nu-Venture to make sure their fleet of buses conform to the highest low emissions standards.

"It is vital to move towards cleaner modes of transport to help reduce health impacts."

The policy would see the council grant new licences to vehicles meeting either an electric/hybrid, Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol standard from January. The change will then be applied to all existing licensed vehicles from January 2021.

York, Leicester, Rotherham, Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby are the other local authorities which have already adopted emission policies.