NEWCASTLE City Council has undertaken a commitment to convert nearly half its fleet to LPG by the end of May, following grants of nearly half-a-million pounds from TransportAction. It will eventually phase out its diesel fleet in favour of LPG.

At present, the authority has 60 converted vehicles. The council is aiming for 310 vehicles - about 42% of its fleet - to be running on the fuel in the next three months following a Powershift grant of £349,000 from the Government-funded TransportAction to purchase Ford Transits and Vauxhall Vectras, and to convert Citroen Berlingos.

The council has built a dedicated workshop for installing LPG conversions, and has become an approved converter.