People across Cumbria are being asked to help name the county’s gritters as the winter road maintenance season moves into top gear.

Cumbria County Council has a total of 38 gritters in its fleet, but none of them currently have names.

Now a competition has been launched to name five of the vehicles.

Suggestions are being invited on social media via the county council’s dedicated Gritter Twitter feed, @CumbriaGritters.

All suggestions will be shortlisted by a ‘panel of experts’ and the most popular names will go through to a public vote on the council’s @CumbriaGritters twitter account later this month, when people will be invited to choose their favourites.

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The winning names will then be given to five gritting vehicles this winter.

Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “The county council takes winter road maintenance very seriously in Cumbria and we have a dedicated team of people and gritter vehicles ready to work day and night to keep the county moving during spells of severe cold weather. 

"I know our gritting service is valued by road users in Cumbria and our Name a Gritter competition is an opportunity to remind people of the important work our gritter drivers do.

"I’m looking forward to seeing people’s naming ideas, all we ask is keep them clean and be original – Gritty McGritface is unlikely to get past our panel!”

Cumbria County Council has a fleet of 38 gritters and snow ploughs based at the council’s highways depots throughout the county.

The closing date for name suggestions is Friday November 16.