The council plans to electrify its entire fleet and it has invested in the new training to make sure all of its full-time vehicle technicians are qualified to maintain the vehicles for the future.

Provided by the University of Wolverhampton and part-funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the training also makes sure that any maintenance to hybrid and fully electric vehicles can be carried out in-house.

Currently only around 3-5% of technicians in the UK receive training on electric vehicles.

As part of its fleet electrification programme, the council has recently replaced nine of its Meals on Wheels diesel delivery vehicles with zero emission electric vans.

In addition, two electric vans are being used by the council’s parking services team, three are being used by Wolverhampton Homes, one is used for the new Podback coffee pod recycling service and two electric people carriers have gone into service to support Children Services.

Cllr Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment and climate change, said: ‘The council and Wolverhampton Homes needs vehicles to be able to deliver a wide range of essential services to the public, but at the moment they are polluting the atmosphere with 2,500 tonnes of carbon every year.

‘As we work towards becoming net carbon neutral by 2028, we will be replacing our polluting diesel vehicles with electric ones; but that’s not the end of the story.

‘We need our staff trained and qualified in repairing and maintaining the new additions to the fleet. With so many services dependent on these vehicles, it is extremely important to train our staff to enable us to provide the best service possible for our residents.

‘We have come a long way in a short space of time, but there is still a lot of work to be done. But the hard work, commitment and enthusiasm of our staff will allow us to literally drive forward our green agenda.’