WILTSHIRE Constabulary has started filling all its diesel police cars with biodiesel in a bid to reduce emissions.

The constabulary operates a Devizes-based fleet of 350 vehicles and 126 of them will be running with the low emission fuel. Wiltshire Constabulary has a policy of replacing its vehicles with diesel wherever possible, so it says this number will keep rising.

Wiltshire police fleet manager Steve Botham said: 'We are committed to improving the environmental performance of the force while maintaining and improving standards of service. Moving to Greenergy Global Diesel allows us to take action to reduce our fleet's emissions of carbon dioxide.'

The fuel, which blends 5% of biodiesel with ultra-low sulphur diesel, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 5% and particulates by 20%, its manufacturers claim.

Greenergy says that recent independent tests at Millbrook concluded that using GlobalDiesel resulted in a 1% improvement in fuel economy.