SOLID fuel boilers and expensive storage heaters will soon be a thing of the past for elderly residents in one village.

Eight old peoples' bungalows in Copt Hewick, near Ripon, are being provided with heat pumps that derive their source of energy from underground.

There is no gas in the village and five of the properties have coal fires and back boilers, while the other three have electric storage heaters. Neither system is efficient and both are expensive to run.

The scheme is being unveiled at the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference at Harrogate's International Conference Centre, this week.

Similar heat pumps are widely used in Scandinavian countries and throughout Germany but the technology is only just starting to appear in this country. Harrogate Borough Council is the first local authority in the country to provide homes with this source of energy.

Councillor Jean Butterfield, cabinet member for housing, said: "People are getting used to seeing solar panels where energy is derived from the sun above ground. But this is a new and exciting development sourcing that same energy from under ground.

"It is a huge step in our commitment to use renewable energy whenever possible."