The vehicles cover one Nissan e-NV200 van plus four Nissan LEAFs and one Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

One of the LEAFs will be used by Live Borders, the new joint and sports and culture trust for the region, and will be based at the trust’s Galashiels headquarters. A further two LEAFs will also be available for SB Cares staff and three of the electric vehicles will be provided to the waste, neighbourhood services and SB Contracts staff to use.

Councillor Ron Smith, executive member for planning and environment, said: “This is a great example of the council and Live Borders working together to ensure their staff have access to new efficient vehicles which are environmentally friendly.

“As well as the obvious environmental benefits, electric vehicles can save money, with fuel costs of three to four pence per mile compared to 10 pence per mile for the average family car.”

The council currently has 12 charging points, with Ron Smith adding: “The number of rapid charging points across Scotland is increasing all the time and as you can see, the council is keen to promote this cleaner form of transport.”

Funding was provided by the Scottish Government’s Switched on Fleets’ initiative, which was launched in February 2015 and made £2.5m available for public sector fleets to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road.