91Èȱ¬

A mayor may soon have to swap his luxury four-litre Bentley for a greener hybrid electric version in a bid to reduce his carbon footprint.

Cheshire East Council has given notice to the Crewe-based carmaker that it no longer intends to run the Continental Flying Spur model as the mayoral car.

Instead it wants to find a more economical choice as part of a target to become carbon neutral by 2025.

Bentley will soon be launching a plug-in hybrid model called the Bentayga.

Martin Smith, the council's registration and civic services manager, told a recent meeting: "We could get a reasonably-sized plug-in hybrid for a little bit less than I suspect we would pay for a Bentley, but obviously you aren't comparing like-with-like.

"You are comparing what would be a nice car made by another manufacturer with a very high-spec, very nice vehicle."

Mr Smith told councillors the current petrol-driven Flying Spur emits 254g of carbon dioxide per km, and does about 24 miles per gallon (mpg) of fuel and covers 14,000 to 15,000 miles a year.

The Bentayga has lower carbon emissions and would save the council about £3,500 a year on fuel over the same mileage.

Audlem councillor Rachel Bailey said she was "uncomfortable" about a comparison between cars taking place in public, and thanked Bentley for "the support they have provided to this council and its community".

But Disley councillor Dennis Murphy said: "It will give us more damage than ever if you end up buying a Bentley in secret."

If approved by a future meeting, the new car would be in use from January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.