City street is country's greenest

All the streets chosen have green in their name

A street in West Yorkshire has been hailed the greenest in the country as part of a social experiment to reduce energy consumption.

People living on Green Lane in Leeds have cut their gas and electricity use by almost a third.

The eco-friendly street is one of eight UK roads taking part in the British Gas experiment to see who can reduce their energy bills the most over a year.

The winning street will receive £50,000 to spend on a community project.

Residents in each place, all streets with the word green in their names, were given £30,000 in January to spend on domestic energy saving equipment from light bulbs to cavity wall insulation.

It's comforting to know that we are leading the way and I hope it stays that way Resident Geoff Fawcett

Six months into the project, the Leeds street has been shown to be out-performing all others and has collectively reduced its CO2 emissions and its energy consumption by nearly 30%.

Ros and Geoff Fawcett, who live on Green Lane in Leeds, have taken part in the Green Street Challenge and said they had seen a drop in their energy bills.

Out of the £30,000 budget, the couple received 30 energy efficient light bulbs, a tumble dryer, a kettle and a condensing boiler.

Mr Fawcett, a former maths and science teacher, said: "It's comforting to know that we are leading the way and I hope it stays that way.

"We will continue our efforts even after the competition because we can see no detriment to it. It benefits both of us and it could do for everyone else, it's just about changing habit and then gradually buying new appliances."

Phil Bentley, managing director of British Gas, said: "For every £3 we spend heating our homes £1 is wasted because of poor insulation.

"And whilst strict standards on new build are needed, most of the energy being consumed is in the ageing homes we live in today.

"It is making these changes in these properties that will give us the biggest carbon emission reductions."