London's first driverless cars are coming sooner than you think

Residents of Greenwich beware: from July, the roads of this leafy London borough will be alive with the "zzzwwwwwwrrrrrrrmmmm" of autonomous cars.

Or whatever noise an autonomous car makes - we've never heard one.

Seven electrical pod 'cars' will be put on trial on routes around Greenwich and the O2 arena, shuttling five passengers and one steward (there to hit the emergency brake, just in case) at a time. 

Developed by the GATEway group, the pods are based on the vehicles currently used at Heathrow Airport that ferry passengers around Terminal 5 on set tracks.

The first passengers to use the Greenwich cars will be contacted via invitation, before the trail is opened to the public in the weeks following. The cars will also appear in Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes later this year.

We look forward to hearing the first stories of cab drivers complaining about the arrival of the autonomous cars "c'min over here, takin' our jobs".