A FORMER Worcester parliamentary candidate is urging people across the city to be more eco-friendly - after getting this electric car powered by SOLAR panels.

Louis Stephen, who tried to become the city's MP back in May, has swapped his old Toyota gas-guzzler for an electric Nissan Leaf powered by battery.

But rather than leave it there Mr Stephen, who lives in Bath Road, has decided to get 36 solar panels installed in his back garden to help feed it.

The panels soak up the sun and feed into his electricity supply, in turn charging up his second-hand vehicle, which is four years old.

Since March the car has been saving him around 10p per mile - working out at a whopping £480 a year for people driving 400 miles a month.

Mr Stephen, who chairs Worcester Green Party, said: "I used to have a Toyota, which was a company car but in February or March needed something new and got this.

"It takes around eight hours to charge up and by then you've got around 100 miles in it, but there's all these free rapid charging points at service stations too which are free.

"You can take it to one of those and within 20 minutes or half an hour it charges up to 80 per cent of the battery, so you can have a cup of coffee and then you're done.

"It's saving me around ten pence a mile - particularly as a second car I think they're very good."

A company based in Strensham known as 2020SolarPV supplied him with the panels to feed it.

"It's great because whatever electricity it generates goes into the house (and then the car) but whatever we don't use, that feeds into the grid network," he added.

"We weren't sure where to put the panels but thought it was better than our roof."

The new Nissan Leaf models are sold for around £15,790 at the moment, but older ones with previous owners can be bought for around £7,000-£10,000.

Despite big efforts from manufacturers their popularity is yet to seriously catch on, but many experts say they are becoming more widely known among motorists and sales are up 25 per cent since 2013.

We revealed earlier this year how Worcestershire County Council has installed 12 electric car charging points at various locations after getting a £600,000 grant.

They include Webbs of Wychbold, Evesham Leisure Centre, St Martin's Gate car park in Worcester, the city's Crowngate car park, the Chateau Impney hotel in Droitwich and Abbey Stadium, Redditch.