Electric vehicles could be used by Worthing Borough Council to cut down on pollution.

The council is investigating the possibility of switching to greener vehicles in response to a government initiative backed by cash.

Worthing trialled an electric vehicle in 1999 but nothing came of it. Councillors will now consider a report offering vehicles run on one of three fuels: Liquified petroleum gas, compressed natural gas or electricity.

Environment officer Paul Willis said Horsham District Council and Mid Sussex District Council were already operating electric vehicles used by car park inspectors, dog wardens and waste inspectors.

They had a limited range of up to 50 miles and could only carry a limited weight but they were useful in urban areas.

Mr Willis said: "The new generation electric-petrol hybrid vehicles offer significant emissions benefits without the range disadvantage traditionally associated with electric vehicles.

"The latest vehicles do not require external recharging and are capable of running up to 60 miles or more on a gallon of petrol.

"They are extremely quiet and produce no tailpipe emissions, making them ideally suited to urban work, particularly in a small borough such as Worthing.

"The cost of running an electric vehicle is extremely cheap, with a typical cost of 1p per mile compared with 10p per mile for a conventionally-driven vehicle."

The cost of an electric car ranged up to £5,000, with leased batteries costing between £60 and £100 a month.

Compressed natural gas was said to be more practical for trucks and larger vehicles but there were no refuelling points locally.

Liquid petroleum gas cost less than half the price of petrol or diesel and there was a refuelling point in Shoreham.

The report being discussed reveals that grants are available to help the council buy new vehicles.