THE number of public electric vehicle chargers drivers had access to in Dudley fell by a tenth last year, new figures show.

It comes as the RAC expressed concerns certain communities are missing out, with the figures showing an inconsistent supply of chargers across the UK.

Department for Transport figures show there were 179 public electric car chargers in Dudley as of July – down from 198 the year before.

It means the number of public chargers has fallen by - 10 per cent over the last year.

The Government set a target of installing 300,000 public electric chargers by 2030, meaning around 3,600 chargers must be installed across the UK per month.

Of the chargers installed in Dudley, 69 were rapid chargers.

Nationally, 65,000 chargers had been installed as of July – a rise of 47 per cent on the year before. It means the Government is on track to meet its 2030 target.

But the RAC said areas currently poorly served need to be prioritised, with some places having more than 1,000 chargers per 100,000 people and others having fewer than 30 per 100,000.

There were 55 public chargers per 100,000 people in Dudley.

Meanwhile, just two of the 14 local authorities with the best access were based outside of London, while the capital accounted for nearly a third of the chargers nationally.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "It is extremely positive that electric vehicle chargers continue to be installed at pace in public locations, giving current and prospective EV drivers more confidence that they’ll be able to charge up when and where they need to, but there are significant differences when it comes to regional and local accessibility."

He said London benefits from on-street bollard and lamppost chargers which are "non-existent in many other parts of the country", and warned rapid chargers – which drivers travelling beyond their range or without access to a home charger rely on – are more available in Scotland, the South West and the Midlands than the capital.

"Everything is moving in the right direction, but it’s still the case that building the charging infrastructure the UK needs is no mean feat," he added.

"Private charging networks and local authorities need to carefully assess current and future demand for chargers, while at the same relying on the companies that run the electricity grid to get the cabling where it needs to be. Installing chargers in those parts of the UK that are currently poorly served should be a priority."

A DfT spokesperson said: "We are committed to accelerating the rollout of charge-points across the UK.

"And we want to go further and faster right across the country, giving drivers the confidence to make the move to zero-emission vehicles."