The new machines form part of a £34m investment so far this year in fleet upgrades.

The Cat 308E2 excavators are the first in the UK to meet US EPA Tier 4 Final and EU Stage IIIB emission standards and replace the previous Stage IIIA model introduced earlier in the year.

The newly designed C3.3B electronic engine was built to deliver a clean, quiet operation with superior power and fuel efficiency.

Martin Fitzpatrick, joint managing director at One Call Hire, said: “The new Stage IIIB/Tier 4i excavators meet the required specification for all of today’s emission regulations.

“On most of the large infrastructure projects in the UK the demand for cleaner more environmentally friendly machines is becoming mandatory.”

The newly-designed fuel efficient engines offer fuel savings of up to 22%, which can equate to around £80 per week.