Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Lancashire can now apply to be part of a new on-street charging trial.

The initiative, aimed at residents without driveways, offers a free cross-pavement channel to charge their vehicles from home.

More than 60 residents have already been successful in applying for Lancashire County Council's trial of three different types of cross-pavement channels, also known as 'cable trays'.

These are sited on residential roads across all 12 districts in the county.

Mike Pickering, a 65-year-old resident from Nelson, is one of the successful applicants.

He has arthritis and owns a rechargeable car through the Motability scheme.

Mr Pickering said: "I live in a terraced street and this is the first scheme I have been able to use that is really local to me.

"The benefits include it being eight times cheaper and the convenience of charging it so close, overnight.

"As I can charge the car more often for less money, this means that I can be less cautious about when I use it.

"There have only been benefits for me with this free trial, there have been no drawbacks and I would urge anybody eligible to sign up to take part."

The trial is funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) under the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Pilot Fund.

The cable trays enable wires to run from a home to the car under floor level, avoiding the risk of people tripping over cables in the pavement.

Councillor Shaun Turner, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: "This is a fantastic scheme which allows eligible residents who have to park on the road to apply for a cross-pavement channel installed free to gather their feedback.

"As Mike's story shows, it can make a huge difference to users' time, finances and opportunities to access more days out, trips shopping or for medical appointments and access to employment and training opportunities.

"There are still limited spaces for the trials, so apply now."

Residents are encouraged to contact EV Charging Infrastructure team on EVCharging@lancashire.gov.uk for more information.