Two pupils from South Leeds were amongst the winners of a competition to name 12 gritting lorries from the Leeds City Council fleet.
Local Councillor Andrew Scopes (Labour, Beeston & Holbeck) presented an award to Abena, one of the winners, at Ingram Road Primary School in Holbeck.
Another winner from South Leeds, at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, in Beeston will receive their prize shortly.
Cllr Scopes commented:
“A huge congratulations to Abena for her winning suggestion of ‘Annabell the Gritter’. I was really pleased to be able to award Abena with a certificate. It was a fun morning for everyone involved. The children got to meet some of the gritting team and have a look close up at one of the new machines. Seeing the children get engaged and excited about this was a real joy and I want to pass my congratulations on to Abena and all the other winners. Do watch out for Annabell the gritter in South Leeds, but I’m hoping it’ll be a while before it is cold enough for gritting again!”
The council is visiting all the eight schools that provided winning entries to reward the children with special gift prizes and the chance to see the gritters and how they work.
The council has 30 gritting vehicles to ensure Leeds’ main roads are safe for residents every winter. The vehicles are on call every 24 hours, seven days a week, from October to late spring, and on average, collectively drive 51,200 miles every winter period (which equates to driving around the worlds circumference twice). The gritter crews are working hard over the winter period and on standby for poor weather.
Last year the council launched a live gritter tracker map where residents can view gritting vehicles in real-time, the nearest grit bins, and recently gritted roads in the last 12 to 24 hours at Gritter Tracker (arcgis.com). The newly named vehicles will be added soon and residents will be able to see and track online the whereabouts of the gritters. These changes are helping raise awareness about the important work these teams do, to keep our roads safe and accessible, especially at this time of year.
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said:
“I’ve enjoyed presenting some of the winners of our ‘Name the Gritter’ competition. I particularly liked Bob and Nicole Saltslinger names suggested. I’d like to thank all the children from schools across Leeds, who provided some really creative names for our winter service gritters.
“The council’s highways team ensure Leeds roads are safe and clear during the snow and freezing temperatures every year, and now looking forward to see some of the named gritters helping ensure residents can get around safely this winter.”
The full list of winning names:
- Gertie
- Nicole Saltslinger
- Bob
- Magical Mo
- Shellie
- Usain Salt
- Salter Clause
- Blizzer
- Greta
- Annabell
- Snow patrol
This post is based on press releases issued by Leeds City Council and Cllr Andrew Scopes
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