West London's largest fruit and veg market is now one of its greenest, after £2m worth of solar panels were installed.

Western International Market , in Hayes Road, Southall , is now home to the UK's largest array of solar panels installed by any local authority in the UK, according to Hounslow Council , which owns the site.

More than 6,000 panels now sit on the roof of the market, which sells fruit, vegetables and fresh flowers, producing half the 3.5MWh of electricity needed each year to power the climate controlled facilities.

The 1.73MW generated by the photovoltaic panels would be enough to power more than 800 homes, according to the council.

The council says it expects to make back its £2m investment in five years, and predicts the solar panels will save it £7.5m over the next 20 years.

As most of the 80 wholesalers and buyers based at the site work during the hours of darkness, electricity generated by the solar panels during the day is stored using lithium batteries.