Half of UK councils still use pesticides in public places, research finds

The Olympic Park Gardens; 23 of 33 London councils said they had either ended their pesticide use or were moving in that direction. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

More than half of councils in the United Kingdom continue to use pesticides in parks, playgrounds, pavements, playing fields and housing estates, research revealed on Wednesday.

But increasingly, local authorities are taking action to end or reduce their use of pesticides, according to research by the Pesticide Action Network.