Lancashire's charge for electric cars

According to the Department for Transport, the number of registered plug-in vehicles increased by 41 per cent last year - one of the biggest rises in the country.

It comes as the county council is set to install dozens of charging points.

Between September 2016 and September 2017 the figure of registered vehicles in Lancashire increased from 834 to 1,175.

This compares to just 18 in 2012, the DfT figures show.

Coun Sue Whittam, who represents Preston Rural North, has called on the city authority to give charging points higher priority in planning guidelines.

She said: “The use of electric vehicles is a key measure in reducing emissions locally and therefore the provision of infrastructure to facilitate and stimulate this change is essential.

“The only way to ensure that we are future proofing our houses and transport for the next generations is for additional policies to be included in the next Local Plan.

“This should ensure that developers as a minimum should be providing one electric vehicle dedicated charging point per house with garage or driveway.”