ONE of Britain's biggest fleets, Royal Mail, is embracing Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's green Budget aims by revealing it could launch a massive electric vehicle fleet to help slash pollution in congested areas if cities become blocked to all but the cleanest vehicles. The fleet, which totals 30,000 vehicles, would need 5,000 EVs for city centre low emission zones.

Mike Horlor, head of fleet for the Royal Mail, said: 'This is just an estimate of what we would need to do if city centres throughout the country became blocked to polluting vehicles. All local authorities have problems, but at the moment they are not setting out their plans clearly. They are not proposing a single solution, but we have come up with the figures as part of a quick look at what we might have to do.'

Parcelforce Worldwide, the parcel delivery arm of The Post Office, which includes Royal Mail, has also invested in electric vehicles technology. The firm has launched an 18-month assessment of a truck manufactured by Smiths Electric Vehicles. Parcelforce Worldwide planning and strategy director John Swanwick, said: 'This is a positive step towards minimising our environmental impact.'