Hundreds of residents in the UK's smallest town of Fordwich have been offered the chance to test drive a new electric Ford Mustang this weekend.

The mass test session around the Canterbury countryside is hoped to encourage more people to ditch diesel and petrol for a much greener option.

Ford, which for this weekend is dubbing the picturesque town 'Ford-switch', has offered the 380-strong population the chance to get behind the wheel of the new Mustang Mach-E.

As part of the scheme, the town is also getting a public charging point installed at the Fordwich Arms pub, courtesy of British Gas.

The Mustang test drives, starting from the Brett Aggregates quarry, last either one or two hours.

Philip Lewis, mayor of Fordwich, said: “What a fantastic way to get people to try out an electric vehicle.

"We are so proud of our town and preservation is something that is incredibly important to us so we were keen to see how simple it would be to switch over to a more environmentally friendly vehicle.

"It’s great to see so many people signed up over the next few days and we are thrilled to have a local charging point installed for long term public use.”

Research shows that 82% of countryside residents would not feel confident purchasing an electric car as their next vehicle

Lisa Brankin, managing director, Ford of Britain and Ireland, said: "Ford is committed to helping our current and future customers to go all-in on the road to a fully electric future by supporting them on that journey.

"Over the next few days, we want to show how even the smallest town can make the electric switch."

The test drives are running from today until Sunday.

Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury