End of the road for police force's fleet of LPG-powered vehicles A SCOTTISH police force scrapped its fleet of environmentally-friendly vehicles after manufacturers stopped providing them ready-made, it has emerged. Lothian and Borders Police said it would have been too expensive for the force to convert its own vehicles to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) when car companies stopped supplying them factory-fitted. At its peak, the force's LPG fleet consisted of 45 to 50 Ford and Vauxhall vehicles. LPG, also known as autogas, can be used as an alternative to petrol and diesel, and is said to reduce carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions. Fleet And Commercial Vehicles Scotland reported that an average LPG-conversion system costs about £2,500 per vehicle. The trade magazine said the retail price of LPG is about 80p per litre, some 50p cheaper than the price of petrol. A police spokeswoman said: "Lothian and Borders Police stopped using LPG a few years ago. The cost implication was too great, particularly given that the cost of converting vehicles to LPG fell to the force after manufacturers stopped supplying them ready-made. Our LPG fleet consisted at its height of between 45 and 50 vehicles, which were a mixture of Ford and Vauxhall. Lothian and Borders Police rolled out its "green fleet" more than a decade ago. Its 2001/2002 annual public performance report stated: "The cars are more environmentally friendly, producing 75 per cent less carbon monoxide and 85 per cent less hydrocarbon emissions than petrol. LPG fuel is 70 per cent cheaper than diesel and running costs will be reduced even further when more re-fuelling sites are available. In 2004, one of the force's LPG Vauxhall Astras was exhibited at the German Liquid Gas Association fair in Leipzig. Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian, said: "When it comes to low carbon, less-polluting vehicles in the public sector, the Scottish Government needs to move up a gear. "It will continue to be difficult for public services to choose greener vehicles if SNP ministers fail to insist on it being the norm rather than a "nice to have." The government has a wishy-washy commitment to reduce carbon from vehicles by raising awareness of funding and slowly rolling out electric charging points. Instead they need to divert some of their bloated motorway budget to make electric and low carbon vehicles more affordable so they become commonplace in public sector fleets. By doing so, we could get back on track with our climate change targets and tackle the shockingly poor air quality in our city centres that puts public health at risk.