Solar powered ambulances could soon be responding to emergencies in Huddersfield.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) has been awarded a grant from the Department for Transport to fit solar panels to 175 of its rapid response vehicles (RRVs).

The £166,000 grant will see YAS become the first in England to use the technology – planned for launch this November.

RRVs are smaller vehicles, which are put on standby at strategic locations around the county.

Staff are currently required to keep the vehicle engine running at all times to power vital electrical systems.

The solar panels will now allow medics to turn off the engines by powering everything electrical and will also reduce exhaust emissions as medics await their next call.

Alexis Keech, Environmental and Sustainability Manager for YAS, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this funding. Not only does it allow us to reduce the carbon footprint of our organisation and contribute to the Government’s work to reduce emissions, but will also reduce our fuel costs meaning we can re-invest the savings into frontline services and patient care.”

YAS’ fleet travel over 40 million kilometres a year. The introduction of this new technology will reduce CO2 emissions by 720kg per vehicle per year and 17kg of NOx per vehicle per year.