Eurotunnel says it has saved more than £430,000 in its first year of using a new cooling system in the Channel Tunnel - the equivalent of enough electricity to run 1,000 homes.

The 33% energy savings for 2017 ensure the tunnel's ambient temperatures remain around the 25C mark.

It will dramatically boost Eurotunnel's sustainability efforts, which, to date have been recognised with its fifth consecutive certification from the UK's Carbon Trust Standard for a further nine per cent decrease of its carbon footprint in 2015-2016 compared to 2012-2013.

Francois Gauthey, deputy chief executive officer of Getlink, Eurotunnel's parent company, said: "Eurotunnel's commitment to environmental protection involves a number of initiatives.

"We saw the replacement of the Channel Tunnel cooling system as a chance to reduce our energy consumption and carbon footprint.

"This effort required installing a new cooling system—Europe's largest—to maintain the Channel Tunnel at optimal ambient temperatures. Honeywell's Solstice zd refrigerant, with its ultra-low global warming potential, and Trane's chillers, which are already being used to cool large buildings and infrastructure, provided the best combination of features to help us meet our energy and environmental goals."