Portsmouth City Council was named Fleet of the Year 2016 at a top national award ceremony last week.

Award judges described the council's management of its fleet of vehicles as 'forward thinking and innovative' and praised the council's commitment to saving cost and carbon as they presented the top trophy at the 28th annual Fleet News Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, in London.

Leader of the council Cllr Donna Jones said: "Congratulations to everybody who has worked very hard to ensure that the council has an outstanding, award winning fleet that we can all be proud of.

"These awards are recognised as the most influential and important awards in the fleet industry and this is fantastic recognition for the people who manage our fleet."

Fleet News editor-in-chief Stephen Briers said: "Portsmouth City Council has undertaken a range of new initiatives to save cost and carbon. 

"Its advanced thinking and holistic approach goes beyond simply meeting the needs of the council; it extends into the community and looks at how the fleet can play a role there. 

"The judges praised the excellent minibus initiative to improve utilisation and productivity of the fleet."

The council came out on top in their category which included nominees from across the public and private sector: Gateshead Council, Millers Vanguard, Radian Group, University of Birmingham, Z-Tech Control Systems.