Can you name Lancashire's new gritters?
Names wanted to go alongside Basil Salty and Holly Chilloughby
Lancashire's highways teams are asking people to get their thinking caps on and come up with some great names for their new gritters.
Nine of the instantly recognisable big yellow machines will be spreading salt on our roads for the first time this winter, and they need a little help to fit in with their fellow gritters which already have unique names printed on each door.
Some of those which already make up the county's 45-strong frontline fleet include Basil Salty, Gritasaurus, Captain Snow, Holly Chilloughby and Albert Icestein.
County Councillor Charlie Edwards, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "We were one of the first councils to begin the tradition of giving names to our gritters.
"Some of our existing fleet had to retire this year, and with nine new gritters entering service this winter we'd like people to come up with some good names for them.
"Our highways teams do an incredible job of keeping Lancashire's main routes open whatever the weather, often working during the night over what can be a very long winter in this part of the world.
"Seeing a gritter go by on a freezing night is a reassuring sight for everyone, and spotting the name on the door of the cab helps to raise a smile, particularly for our drivers as they begin another chilly night shift."
Of the 4,300 miles of roads in Lancashire which the county council is responsible for around a third, or 1,500 miles, make up the priority gritting network which can be treated within 4 hours whenever a freeze is forecast for the whole county.
You can nominate a name for one of Lancashire's nine new gritters by emailing nameagritter@lancashire.gov.uk, or commenting on one of our posts about the gritters on Twitter @LancashireCC, Facebook @lancashirecc or Instagram lancashirecc using the hashtag #LancsWinterGritter21. We want each of Lancashire's gritters to have a unique name, and you can see a list of those to avoid because we're already using them at lancashire.gov.uk/winter.
The competition closes at 5pm on Friday 29 October 2021.