Outdoor staff at Dorchester town council are making efforts to become more ‘green’ in the way they work and the tools they use.

They have just bought an electric pick up and have been using electric tools in the Borough Gardens and other parks and recreation grounds run by the council in the county town.

The authority also recently prepared its own biodiversity plan which includes working in more sustainable ways as well as banning, or severely restricting, the use of chemicals and pesticides.

Outdoor services manager Carl Dallison told town councillors on Tuesday that he was now investigating fitting solar panels to the council depot to reduce electrical consumption in the building as well as charge storage batteries, which would then, in turn, be used to re-charge the electric pick up vehicle.

“Essentially we think we could become off-grid,” he said.

He said that staff had been generally pleased with the electric powered equipment they had been trying out for a range of outdoor tasks: “You could actually stand close by and hear yourself talk which is quite a contrast to the noise from two-stroke machines, so it will be much quieter as well,” he said.