ELECTRIC car technology is advancing rapidly and the latest figures suggest that Cheshire West and Chester is getting on board the green revolution.

Over the 2017-18 financial year, the number of registered plug-in vehicles in the area increased by 48%.

Recently released Department for Transport statistics show the number of registered electric or plug-in hybrid cars, vans and micro cars called quadricycles in Cheshire West and Chester for each quarter of the year.

From January 2017 to March 2017, there were 384 electric vehicles.

However by the latest quarter, from January to March this year, that figure had grown to 569, a jump of 185.

That's less than the increase of 2,401 in Peterborough, which has the highest percentage of plug-in vehicles of any local authority in the United Kingdom.

But back in 2013 in Cheshire West and Chester there were just 19 electric cars, which shows the progress the industry has made in a short time.

Over the past few years manufacturers have increased the range of their vehicles and prices have lowered, helping fuel the rise in environmentally friendly vehicles.

The latest Nissan Leaf, the UK's most popular entirely electric car, can now travel 235 miles before it needs to be recharged, 80 miles more than the previous version.

Last month BP announced it would follow Shell and install charging points at its petrol stations and Dyson has also said it plans to release an electric car by 2020.

One advantage electric car users have over other vehicles is that they do not have to pay road tax, as they do not release any emissions.

Electricity is also far cheaper than petrol and diesel.

However, plug-in vehicles still make up a tiny percentage of the cars on the road in Cheshire West and Chester.

Compared with the 569 electric cars on our roads, there are 203,218 cars and vans in total, according to the latest complete vehicle registration data from 2017.