“RANGE anxiety” is now a thing of the past for electric car drivers in Bournemouth and the surrounding area, with the installation of new charging bays.

Bournemouth has been chosen as one of the first towns in the country to host a high-tech electric vehicle charging post and join the Polar electric vehicle charging network.

And, added to the two council electric charge points in the Richmond Gardens multi-storey car park, which offer free charging and free parking while you charge, it means the town is now fully EV ready.

There are more than 80 other charging points within an hour’s driving time of Bournemouth and over the next year this is expected to increase to more than 150.

A fully-charged electric car can cover around 100 miles and it is cheaper, and better for the environment, than traditional petrol or diesel cars.

Motorists that subscribe to the Polar network pay £19.50 a month and 95 pence every time they use a charging unit.

They can also benefit from free installation of a high-speed home charging unit.

John Freeman, of Poole, has been driving a Nissan Leaf electric car for six months.

He said: “Paying £80 a shot to fill up my car just to go to and from work was just ridiculous.

“I bought an electric car instead and it’s worked out very well.

“My wife was apprehensive to begin with but I’m hoping she will get one soon.

“I don’t think they’ve started selling them in high volume yet but I’m sure they will do.”

And David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster PLC, which operates the Polar network, said: “We think the demographic in Bournemouth is right for electric cars. Range anxiety has been the biggest problem with convincing people to switch to an electric car but that is really no longer an issue.”