Visitors to the Lake District National Park have been reassured they can power up their vehicles.

Park chief Richard Leafe said apps are available to guide them to the nearest charge point and tourism businesses also offered top-up spots.

The national park authority boss said it plans to add to the existing 30 charging points it already has.

Councillor Alan Barry, a national park member, said: “If people do come in electric cars we want them to have an enjoyable experience rather than spending their time looking for charging points.”

Mr Leafe said such information was available online and suggested an app called Zap Map.

Mr Leafe, who owns an electric car, said: “If you own an electric vehicle you very rapidly become au fait with the technology because you are very interested in knowing whether you can get back from where you’ve just driven to.

Increasingly, they are being built into the navigation systems of the car themselves.”

Mr Leafe said the electricity was sold through the providers and the LDNPA made a small margin to encourage more electric vehicle use.

The LDNPA is installing charge points at its offices in Kendal and Threlkeld near Keswick, along with Coniston, Hawkshead, Glenridding and Grasmere.

Mr Leafe said: “I am aware of two other rapid chargers in the national park at Ambleside and Keswick. Quite a number of hotels have their own infrastructure. I see this as a start in rolling out more electric car charging infrastructure.”

He said the push could be helped if an EU funding bid to fund a second round of its Low Carbon Lake District project was successful.

The park hopes to buy some electric vehicles and roll out more charge points.

Mr Leafe said: “Our ambition is to have something like 60 charge points in and around the national park. If you added on some of those at hotels, we are quite a way towards that already.”

The parks hopes to see car use more than halved as the main mode of travel for visitors around the Lake District within the next 21 years.

The park’s annual staff conference, held at Rydal Hall, focussed this year on the climate emergency and what role it can play.

Mr Leafe also met recently with Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change.

Mr Leafe invited the committee to the Lakes to see the “ground-breaking” work done to reduce carbon emissions.

“He expressed a strong interest in local action as it’s going to join, hopefully, much tougher, more focussed Government action to address the climate crisis,” said Mr Leafe.