A LEEDS-based company has increased its fleet size by 400 vehicles to cope with the extra workload generated by a new contract to clean and maintain BT phone boxes throughout the UK.

Cleaning and maintenance specialist NIC Support Services has had the BT phone box cleaning deal for the north of England and Scotland for a number of years.

Since winning the contract to cover the whole of the UK, the company has had to re-appraise its mobility needs and acquire a further 400 Vauxhall vehicles. These include car-derived vans and small and medium-sized saloons for its mobile maintenance and cleaning forces.

In a multi-million pound contract, NIC Support Services has taken on 319 Combos, 70 Corsas, nine Vectras and two Omegas.

John Spencer, group chief executive of parent firm G & J Spencer Group, which operates a total of 1,000 vehicles, said: 'The new deal with Vauxhall will enable us to deliver a premium service to our customers and so help reduce the number of occasions that the nation's phone boxes are out of action.'