The Mayor of London has announced £5 million will be spent on public water fountains to cut use of disposable plastic bottles.

Sadiq Khan announced the money earlier today as part of plans to encourage people to buy less bottled water.

The fountains will be installed by Thames Water in April 2019 with the money open to councils, businesses and land owners to bid for.

Mr Khan said: “For many years, our public water fountains were discarded and neglected, whilst single-use plastic waste soared. We’re determined to reverse that trend and help deliver hundreds more free public fountains in the capital for everyone to enjoy.

“There is a real appetite for refilling and I want Londoners to lead the way in topping up on tap water when we’re on the move.”

London Assembly member of Enfield and Haringey, Joanne McCartney, welcomed the move.

Ms McCartney said: “It is vitally important that we do all we can to tackle plastic waste in London, particularly as thousands of plastic bottles end up in the River Thames and our waterways every year.

“I would urge the council, local businesses and organisations to bid for a share of this funding. Securing this funding would mean we could somewhat reduce our impact on the environment and provide a helping hand to those without a clean or reliable supply of drinking water.”