Hypocrite: Eco-warrior Sting and the Police top list of bands with worst carbon footprint

According to an expert report, he might be one of the most hypocritical.

In the round-up of green credentials of live acts, Sting and the newly reformed Police have been named "the dirtiest band in the world".

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Their biggest green crime, according to experts, isn't their love of fast cars, country mansions or jets - but the massive environmental toll of their gigs.

Though not the only rock band to play huge stadiums, the Police were singled out because of the size and scale of their current world tour.

An estimated 1.5million fans will travel tens of millions of miles to see them perform at one of more than 100 venues.

The conclusion comes from John Buckly, an environmental adviser from

www.carbonfootprint.com.

In an interview for New Musical Express magazine, he said: "At the Live Earth concert in New Jersey where The Police played, the biggest contribution to carbon emissions wasn't from the concert itself, it was the fans.

"The Police played lots of big stadiums - they need to be careful over where they play, and make sure it's near public transport."

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The band's reunion tour, which started in May last year, takes in four continents.

By July, the Police will have visited the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan.

The tour comes with the usual array of equipment, an army of roadies and technicians - and many jet flights around the world. Sting's well publicised love of green causes has often seemed at odds with the trappings of rock star success.

He keeps no fewer than four homes in Britain with his wife Trudie Styler, including the 800-acre Lake House estate in Wiltshire.

The home has 14 bedrooms and eight baths.

He also has a beach house in Malibu, an estate in Tuscany, a £1million apartment in New York and a love of 4x4 cars.

Last year, his former cook Jane Martin told an employment tribunal how "opulent extravagance reigned" at the home and that there was "no regard to expense, cost or wastage" of food or drink.

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During last year's Live Earth concert, Sting promised to "work to reduce" his carbon footprint.

Leicester band Kasabian also received a poor report. Last year, they toured Japan, Australia and Europe for nine months, crisscrossing the world by jet.

"Kasabian should plan their tours so that each venue is near the next, so they're not effectively flying from Europe to Japan and then all the way back to Europe again, to minimise energy used," said Mr Buckly.

Radiohead apparently has the lowest carbon footprint. Not only do they send their equipment abroad by ship, they offset the tour by planting trees.

Pete Doherty also won praise - for using small venues for solo gigs and for often playing acoustically.