£2.8m eco-cars that travel just two miles

HOLLYWOOD actor Gerard Butler is at the centre of a dangerous flying probe.

The Paisley- born 300 star recorded a daredevil helicopter pilot pal pulling a stunt on his mobile phone – and then shared it on a primetime TV show.

The footage is now at the centre of a major air safety investigation in Australia. The country’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority say the footage constitutes “potential unsafe flying”.

The video was brought to their attention after Butler, 44, broadcast it on popular US chat show Jimmy Kimmel LIVE.

Butler said of the helicopter pilot: “This guy is quite a famous adventurer in Australia. I don’t want to say his name. There was a lot I couldn’t put on this video – this is the tame stuff.”

The star is believed to have been on a two- day tour of Australian’s Northern Territory. In the clip, the helicopter flies toward Butler as he fishes with pals on a riverbank.

The pilot angles the aircraft in such a way its rotor is aimed at the star.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said: “We treat these kind of potential unsafe operations very seriously and it’s for the inspectors to determine whether there will be an investigation.”

One of the four ecofriendly cars bought by South Ayrshire Council, which are rarely used.

“The cost of building and then running this type of car is hard to justify when they’re only travelling such tiny distances.”

Aberdeen City Council have only one electric car – an £ 11,000 Mitsubishi i-Miev bought with the help of a Scottish Government grant in 2013. It covers a more modest 12.5 miles a day.

Dundee City Council have been by far the biggest investors in ecocars, using £ 628,000 of taxpayers money to procure 37 since 2012.

Council bosses claim that last year the cars completed 250,000 miles, the equivalent of each travelling 18 miles a day.

But in Glasgow – where the council is in talks to extend their fleet – estimates suggest as much as £500,000 has been spent on Nissan Leafs and Peugeot Partner cars, the average of which completes a daily route of only seven miles.

Mr Wilson added: “It’s time for a complete re- think about using our taxes for these so- called climate change mitigation schemes.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The day to day operation of council fleet vehicles is a matter for individual councils.” FINANCIAL services companies use“hidden” fees to mask the cost of their products, it has been claimed.

Which? say unexpected costs such as cancellation charges and fees for setting up or amending policies often leave consumers paying more than they’d expected.

A survey by the consumer champions found half the population have paid an additional fee or charge on a financial product or service in the last year, with more than two thirds agreeing that companies use these fees to mislead customers about the true cost.

The same proportion agreed that companies make fees and charges more complicated than they need to be in order to confuse their customers.

Richard Lloyd of Which? said: “These fees can be hard to avoid, and people often don’t know what they’re really paying for.”