The Staffordshire authority said it will spend £420,000 on six electric pickups, to be used for street cleaning, clearing fly-tipping and other maintenance across the borough.

The council said there were ‘no electronically powered pickups available at an economic price’ when it bought its current fleet in 2016.

With that fleet coming to the end of its usefulness, it said now is the ‘perfect opportunity’ to invest in electric vehicles and help decarbonise its operations.

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