I took a stroll around 'beautiful' Birmingham park until I found it contains an 'invisible' killer

Moonlit Park and Sunset Park is an idyllic park just off the Islington Row Middleway (A4540)

Parks are an escape for the mind and body from the hustle and bustle. When work commutes in the urban jungle get too much, the green spaces of Birmingham's woodland escapes can provide the same benefits as a therapy session.

Well, I thought that. Until someone told me that public parks could be filled with toxic air. It's no Chernobyl scenario, but rather the hidden threat of air pollution which activists claim is plaguing Birmingham's green spaces.

This leads to shocking stories such as the mother who is forced to live near the Spaghetti Junction, one of Europe's busiest motorway junctions, when her daughter had severe breathing difficulties as a toddler.

Parks near busy main roads are to be expected in the city but I wanted to visit Moonlit Park and Sunset Park just off the Islington Row Middleway (A4540) to see if there's anything to be scared of. It's honestly like a little piece of heaven enclosed by rows of plush apartments.

A giant tree towers over the park like an umbrella as the wacky colours and patterns of the play area brighten up the mundane city. The shiny-looking handlebars and swings make them seem newly constructed.

A far cry from deprived spaces like Small Heath Park, where here the rubbish actually stays in the bins. The coo from pigeons ripples through the air as bubbles float about from a little girl's bubble blaster, completing the heavenly aesthetic.

I start to wonder, what's the big deal? I'd love to have my lunch here during my work breaks until I open my ears. When I sit and really listen I can hear the roar of traffic booming in the air.

The Islington Row Middleway (A4540) is hard to ignore as cars zoom past, then I finally realise what charities like Asthma + Lung UK shout up about. According to them Birmingham ranks as one of the most polluted cities in the country.

The levels of toxic air are almost five times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) says is acceptable for Nitrogen Dioxide and exceeds London levels. The charity is currently battling for everyone's right to breathe clean air, not an easy task considering there are over 24,000 children in Birmingham living with asthma and 585 child admissions to A&E last year.

So are parents supposed to lock their children indoors forever? One parent, Trusha Mistry, 35, from Edgbaston was pushing her daughter on a swing and told us she didn't know enough about the air quality. she said: "I know we have congestion routes but I don't know the air pollution rates in Birmingham.

"It doesn't worry me at the moment as I am not educated to know the rates. You don't see the pollution itself or the effects but it doesn't seem as busy as other city centres.

"Maybe if we were more educated on it that would help. The council could provide more sustainable methods to get out of the city and make it easy for people not to drive.

"I know we have trams and buses but they need to make it affordable." Asthma + Lung UK were at the park covering it with tape labelled 'TOXIC AIR, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK' making the space look like a crime scene.

Olivia Scott, 26, of Asthma + Lung UK said: "We are trying to raise awareness of the health impact on children as playgrounds in the UK are in areas that exceed WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines.

"It is not just this park, there are 43,000 playgrounds in the UK and statistics show 99% are in areas exceeding WHO guidelines for what is safe for our health. We chose this park because there is a main road you can hear in the background, it is in the centre of Birmingham which is one of the most polluted cities.

"We have seen improvements like the Clean Air Zone but we need more funding from central government. We have a series of interventions like School Streets which creates a protective ring outside schools.

"We also want protection for care homes and GP practices. We also need better connected public transport that is affordable and safe.

"Access to green space is important and we don't want to tell parents 'don't come to playgrounds' but rather ask the government to do more to protect the health of future generations."