ECO-FRIENDLY vehicles have been brought into operation by Durham County Council.

A dual-fuel Citroen C5 and 21 commercial vehicles, which can run on either liquefied petroleum gas (lpg) or petrol, are to be used for business journeys.

County council deputy leader Councillor Don Ross said: "It is intended to run all the vehicles almost entirely on LPG to achieve maximum benefit from its fuel efficiency and reduce the impact on the environment. We have set ourselves targets to move towards the use of dual-fuel vehicles as LPG is cleaner, greener and more economic than petrol or diesel."

The dual-fuel vans and car replace a number of vehicles the county council previously hired. LPG tanks have been installed at county council depots in Durham and Bishop Auckland.

Staff from environment and technical services already use an electric Peugot 106 for shorter journeys.