There are very few milk floats still in use these days.

First horse-drawn and then electrified, the vehicles, which deliver fresh milk directly to people’s homes, were once highly in demand.

Fresh milk delivery still exists, of course, but as consumer habits changed and people began shopping at supermarkets, the floats began to disappear.

However, one vintage milk float will be driving around Bristol between 5am and 1pm today (February 22) - and will be appearing every Thursday to Monday from now on.

The reconditioned vehicle belongs to Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), which aims is to ensure Bristol city centre is safe and attractive to people who live in and visit the city.

The milk float is part of the BID’s cleaning programme and will be used by the team to carry equipment for cleaning the streets.

The jobs the BID carries out include removing mess on the pavements or in business doorways, and cleaning unwanted graffiti, bus stops, pavements and pedestrian walkways.

Keith Rundle, Bristol City Centre BID operations director, said: "It was an irresistible opportunity to repurpose such a distinctive vehicle and give it a new life on the streets of Bristol.

It will appear every Thursday to Monday

"The milk float was originally used to deliver milk to Bristolians and now it's back helping to care for the city.

"As an electric vehicle, it’s helping to reduce carbon emissions around the centre and is the perfect fit for housing all of our cleansing equipment."

The milk float will be on call for all levy paying businesses in the city centre to contact for any urgent cleaning.

The Bristol City Centre BID exists to introduce significant improvements to Bristol for the benefit of levy payers.