LONDON's first public electric car charging station has been opened at a multi-storey car park in the Borough of Sutton. The charging station offers free fuelling for electric vehicle drivers, allowing them to re-charge their vehicles while they are shopping or in the office.

London Borough of Sutton senior ecology officer Richard Barnes said the local authority would foot the bill for electricity used. It also planned to offer free parking in the multi-storey for electric and gas cars, and was in the process of working out how best to implement and police such a system.

The council itself was due to take delivery of five electric Peugeot 106s last week, and also has a number of electric Citroen Berlingos on order for use as Meals on Wheels vehicles. It hopes to have around 60 electric and gas vehicles on its fleet during the next year.