The council has bought two Mailmaster 465HS machines with six stations, a fast sheet feeder with set accumulator and barcode reader.

Kirklees' new machine inserts into envelope sizes between DL and over-sized C4 at speeds at up to 6,000 envelopes an hour.

According to production manager Chris O'Hara, the council has always had a policy of backing up its kit.

He said: "That is why we purchased two machines at the same time. Both these machines fit our requirements well in that they are quick and easy set up and have the capacity to handle the volume of mail even in the busy periods.

"In the past, we had a mailing and inserting machine but it did not have the technology, including the security features that KAS now provides. It was all hands on deck when we sent out the annual Council Tax demands. Staff were drafted in from other departments and there was a lot of manual inserting, simply to get the demands mailed out on time."

The majority of the council's work comes from the Revenues and Benefits Department, averaging around 5,000 to 6,000 envelopes a day.

The council covers Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Batley, Homfirth and surrounding areas in the Yorkshire Pennines.