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Councillors have approved the purchase of a fleet of waste and cleansing vehicles for more than £2m.

Rutland County Council said buying the new 15 vehicles would be cheaper than leasing.

It said its current fleet was ageing, leading to breakdowns and collection disruptions.

The new purchases would cost £2.069m, the council said.

Christine Wise, Liberal Democrat cabinet member for the environment, said it was "imperative" that the council's current vehicles were replaced next May, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“There is a life expectancy for these vehicles of seven years, and all of ours have been going a lot longer," she said.

“As you would expect, with my environmental hat on, I have questioned why we would be investing in diesel trucks.

"But with vehicles this size, trying to make the fleet greener would need a number of infrastructure considerations costed and put in place before we could do that.

“It is proposed that as soon as we purchase these vehicles, we prepare for the next time this happens in 2031.”

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