CIVIC chiefs are planning to spend nearly £10,000 on an all-terrain weed control vehicle.

Bosses at Eastleigh Borough Council want to buy the ‘ATV’ to help with the highways work it carries out as part of an agency agreement.

The vehicle will be used to apply a controlled dose of herbicide on two occasions a year on stretches of road in the borough.

Previously, the council used sub-contractors for the spring application and directly employed staff in summer.

But the ATV will allow the authority to use fewer staff in the future and reduce the need for subcontractors.

The purchase will be funded from the council’s 2013/14 Streetscene revenue budget savings.