London's first driverless cars will be around soon

Trials will also take place in Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes. The eight million project is jointly funded by government agency Innovate UK and industry. 

The Greenwich Automated Transport Environment project (or Gateway) will see seven driverless pods tested on the pavements around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the O2 Arena is based, from July. 

Routes are still being worked out but are likely to include residential areas, the North Greenwich underground station and businesses around the arena. 

Westfield Sportscars, a British carmaker, will be responsible for manufacturing and testing of the pods. Heathrow Enterprise will design the software while a third British firm, Oxbotica, will provide mapping and other sensors to ensure the vehicles are safe.

The pods will have three months of testing, first with invited users and then with the general public. Each pod can carry six passengers but will require a steward to be present at all times to press the emergency button in the case of a problem.