A vehicle exhaust system including an exhaust pipe section, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst, and a burner assembly, connected to the exhaust pipe section at a position upstream of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst, for pre-heating the exhaust system prior to engine start-up. The burner assembly includes a burner with a combustion chamber and a connecting tube that extends between the burner and the exhaust pipe section. A metallic mesh filter element is located inside the connecting tube and/or a catalytic washcoat is disposed on an inner surface of the connecting tube to reduce emissions of the burner assembly at start-up. The catalytic washcoat comprises a mixture of a support material and a catalyst material that chemically reacts with emissions generated by the burner to reduce the amount of burner produced emissions released from the exhaust system during pre-heating.