What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Ashwoods claimed the vehicles would reduce CO2 emissions by 33 tonnes and save the council an estimated £48,000 in diesel over the next three years.

Islington’s fleet and depot manager Chris Rutherford said: “Islington has been fully committed to greener purchasing for many years. With these hybrid vehicles we can green our fleet in a way that also reduces the burden on the public purse by lowering fuel spend.”

Rutherford added: “The vehicles perform well, reduce our fuel use and therefore save us money and lower our emissions.

“The drivers like them because they are hassle-free. There is no extra maintenance required or extensive operator training. To the driver, they run just like normal Transits.”

The LCVs are a mixture of panel vans and tippers, and are used by Islington’s Parks and Environment team in a range of operations from grounds keeping to waste and recycling collection.

The council bought the hybrids through the Department for Transport’s Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme under which the DfT provides a subsidy of £3430 per vehicle.

The council invested in its first eight 3.5-tonne Ashwood Transits in 2009.

Islington is also trialling Ashwoods’ Lightfoot in-cab driver behaviour system, which advises the driver on how to operate the van in the most fuel-efficient manner through real-time audio and visual aids in the cab. Ashwoods claimed the technology is proven to deliver consumption improvements of 15% on average.