London's Carnaby Street gets water fountain

The mayor wants to cut the number of single-use water bottles consumed

A new water fountain has been installed in London's Carnaby Street as part of a campaign to get people to ditch using single-use plastic bottles.

It is one of 20 fountains that will be installed along busy commuter and shopping routes in the city.

Three more will be installed in the summer - two in Liverpool Street Station and one in Bankside's Flat Iron Square, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.

The fountains are part of a £750,000 project to cut plastic waste.

The money will be spent over three years, according to Mr Khan's new draft budget, and is part of the mayor's ambition to send no biodegradable or recyclable waste to landfill by 2026.

The new fountain in Kingly Court, Carnaby Street

Mr Khan said: "For years public water fountains have been disappearing from London's streets - I want to hear from land owners in some of London's most-visited locations so we can continue returning them to the capital."

He said figures showed the average adult in the city bought more than three plastic water bottles a week, "resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste".

The mayor's draft London Plan urges local authorities in the capital to identify "appropriate locations" for free water fountains during the planning process.