A FLEET of shiny new gritters will keep Gloucestershire’s roads safe this winter, and local schools are being asked to name them.

Primary school children are being invited to take part in a colouring competition and to find the best names.

Winning schools will receive a prize and a visit from the Amey winter crews, with their gritter proudly displaying its new name.

These gritters are being leased by the Gloucestershire County Council for ten years, to replace the old fleet, which is 12 years old and are based at depots around the county.

The colouring and naming competition is open to all primary schools in the county, with the closing date being November 24.

Test runs have now been completed across the county.

The gritters travelled all A, B and some C roads and routes to emergency services like hospitals and fire stations as well as most frequent bus routes.

As part of the test run, teams also inspected the winter maintenance equipment such as snow ploughs and in-cab mobile phones and were briefed on this year's winter response plan which covers key contacts, procedures, roles and responsibilities.

The gritters completed their first actual run on Sunday night.

Last year, the county council’s gritting teams completed an average of 64 gritting runs over 56,000 miles using just over 9,300 tonnes of salt.

This year the county is starting winter with just over 10,000 tonnes of salt, with covered salt domes based in Stroudwater, Cannop, Moreton and Cirencester.

Bagged salt will also be delivered to parishes, and the county’s 4,860 grit bins have been refilled.

Cllr Vernon Smith, cabinet member for highways and flood, said: “We’re preparing our highways teams for when the cold weather hits, investing in a new fleet of gritters that will keep spread salt over 1,000 miles of the county's roads.

“Our road crews are the first line of defence in winter weather, they put in tremendous effort battling the elements around the clock so we can travel safely around the county.

“Our competition will give local children a chance to learn about road safety during icy weather.”

To enter the competition and get a colouring pack click here