The vans form part of the council’s drive to cut carbon emissions, save money and cut fossil fuel use in line with the Scottish Government’s plans to get more EVs on the road.

The council received assistance with the purchase from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Electric Vehicle Procurement Support Scheme, which gave a grant of over £12,000 for each vehicle to make up the price difference between the EVs and the traditional diesel vehicles.

The vans will be operated with the help of four council-owned charging posts at Kilncraigs and two in the Greenside Street car park – all of which are available to the general public to use as well. The vehicles join two electric sweepers on the council’s fleet.

Councillor Donald Balsillie, Convener of the Council’s Enterprise and Environment Committee, said: ‘We have been introducing electric vehicles into our own fleet for some time now and I want to see them become a regular sight on Clackmannanshire’s streets.’

‘By providing more charging points, we can start to make an electric vehicle not only a clean and economic choice, but a practical option for many more motorists.’

Over the past two years, the Scottish Government has invested over £8m in electric vehicles and infrastructure for the public sector in Scotland. The funds are being used by Scotland’s public services to purchase around 270 low-carbon vehicles, including cars, vans and street sweepers, and install around 315 charging points across the country.