Electric car club gets cash boost to help others

An electric car share club set up to aid those living in rural areas has been given a cash boost to help other communities.

Blackhall Mill Community Association set up the Derwent Valley car club 10 years ago and it now has a fleet of six electric vehicles.

Participants can hire a car for £5 an hour or book a volunteer driver to take them where they need to go.

Following its success, the club has been awarded £25,000 from the Royal Countryside Fund to help other communities set up similar schemes.

Club members are using the money to create a guide explaining the steps needed for groups wanting to develop their own scheme.

The Derwent club operates throughout the Derwent Valley area including in Rowlands Gill in Gateshead and Shotley Bridge in County Durham.

Michael Marsten, of the community association, said the scheme was a lifeline.

"If the model for our scheme can work in our village it can work in others," he said, adding: "It helps hundreds of people."

Evie McLean, who uses the service said it had helped her get around.

"The driver is someone you already know and have been introduced so its just you and them," she said.

"Its great because I don't like buses as they are usually packed and I suffer from anxiety."

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