Plans for the two vehicles are given the thumbs-up by the council's environment scrutiny panel, despite concerns about cost, technology and the danger they could pose to pedestrians because of their silent engines.

However, the council's director of city services, Mick Heath, is confident the scheme will work and has taken on one electric car for a week-long demonstration, which is currently being used in the Central Park area.

Jobs that the vehicles, which cost about £10,000 each and give out no CO2 emissions, have been earmarked for, include transporting staff who empty the city centre's bins and patrolling the car parks.

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The news comes just days after The Evening Telegraph reported that the council had laid on an electric bike for staff use.

Currently, the council has a fleet of 230 vehicles, ranging from small vans through to 32 tonne vehicles. One of those runs off dual fuel and the rest use diesel – for which they use five per cent of bio-fuel.

The other exception is a petrol engine vehicle, which was bought because of its design for special education need journeys.

Director of city services Mike Heath said: "We were using bio-fuel before anyone else. We have looked at using more bio-fuel, but there are still international concerns with growing the plants to create the fuel.

"There are also a lot of issues in whether vehicles will be warranted by the manufacturers because of using more bio-fuel, which could damage them.

"There still are significant issues with using bio-fuel, so we are saying five per cent is enough. So, electric vehicles are units that come to mind."

However, fears have been raised that the technology for the vehicles isn't ready to be implemented in anything more than a trial basis.

As a mechanic himself, Walton ward councillor and environment scrutiny panel member Charles Day said he thought they had to be trialled, but wasn't confident they would work.

He said: "New diesel emissions are so low they are coming on leaps and bounds compared to the electric car.

"Also, it's like 35 miles before you have to recharge them. But it's got to be tried and we have to be part of this env-ironmentally friendly idea."