Islington Council has purchased a further 29 hybrid vans, making it the largest local authority fleet of hybrid light commercial vehicles in the UK, with 66 hybrid vans in total.

The vehicles will reduce CO2 emissions by 33 tonnes and save the council an estimated £48,000 in diesel fuel over the next three years.

It purchased the Ashwoods through the Department for Transport’s Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP).

Chris Rutherford, fleet and depot manager at Islington Council, said: “Islington has been fully committed to greener purchasing for many years.

“With these hybrid vehicles we can green our fleet in a way that also reduces the burden on the public purse by lowering fuel spend.”

Islington was one of the pioneers in the use of hybrid vans, initially investing in eight Ashwoods vehicles back in 2009.

Rutherford added: “The vehicles perform well, reduce our fuel use and therefore save us money and lower our emissions. The drivers like them because they are hassle-free. There is no extra maintenance required, or extensive operator training. To the driver, they run just like normal Transits.”

The 3.5 tonne vehicles – a mixture of panel vans and tippers - are used by Islington’s parks and environment team, in a range of operations from grounds keeping to waste and recycling collection.

Islington is also trialling Ashwoods’ Lightfoot in-cab driver behaviour system, which is said to deliver a fuel efficiency improvements of 15%.