Car hire will now come to your home thanks to a pioneering service launched by Europcar.

Catriona Lougher, the Marketing Director for Europcar, said: "The timing of this could not be more perfect. We know our customers want convenience, excellent value for money and a simple, no frills car rental service.

“With household budgets stretched due to the recession there are reports that more of us will stay in the United Kingdom for holidays this year.

“Therefore car rental is really coming into its own, whether it is for a larger, reliable holiday vehicle or to replace a second family car.

“We know that the time and logistics needed to collect a vehicle can put some of our customers off, especially when they have luggage and children to organise at the same time.

"Therefore, although we have a strong network of locations that puts us on average only 20 minutes away from every customer, removing the need to collect the car has opened up our car hire to a wider range of customers.”

Europcar's free delivery and collection service is designed to make car hire more accessible and convenient during the British holiday season. The service is available for car and van hire where the rental contract exceeds two days.

Unlike the company’s competitors Europcar will deliver the car to the customer's front door ensuring their holiday can begin without delay.

Delivery and collection does not cost the customer anything for the first 10 miles but after that a small, per-mile charge is applied.

At the end of the hire period, the car will be collected and taken back to its starting location by Europcar.

The service is not available from London locations and airports where good transport links make collecting a vehicle easier for consumers. But it is available in 152 of Europcar's 197 locations.

Once booked the car or van will be delivered to the customer's home within time slots from Monday to Friday and Saturday morning.

Catriona added: “This is all part of Europcar's drive to become the UK's most consumer focused car hire company. We are dedicated to giving customers their car, their way."