There was a record increase in demand for electric car home charging grants in 2020, according to figures from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

More than 42,000 grants for home charging devices were made last year, worth nearly £17 million, which was over a quarter of the value of grants since the government launched the scheme in 2014.

Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grants provide 75 per cent of the cost of installing electric vehicle devices at domestic properties in the UK.

And the number of grants handed out in the Wells area have now been revealed by the scheme - since it started in 2014 and through to April 1 2021, 64 grants had been given in the BA5 postcode area.

The figures are hot on the heels of last week's news, showing new electric vehicle registrations rocketed in 2020, hitting 87 per cent growth for alternative fuel vehicles.

Total vehicle registrations dropped 27 per cent during 2020, with diesel vehicles being particularly badly hit, down 51 per cent.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in November that wholly powered petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK from 2030 as part of the "green industrial revolution" to tackle climate change.

Johnson says the government plans to "invest more than £2.8 billion in electric vehicles, lacing the land with charging points".

Greg Wilson, founder of car insurance company Quotezone.co.uk, said: "Easy access to recharging points is crucial to meeting the government's ambitious targets for electric vehicle use, but there is much work to do to meet the government's plans.

"Research suggests that an investment of £16.7 billion is needed on the public charging infrastructure alone – excluding local grid network updates.

"While grant funding take-up for charging devices shot up last year, it will need to increase to ensure that more than two million new vehicles sold each year can access electric charging points as the 2030 deadline draws closer."