Council unveils new looks for newly named gritters for Warwickshire - including 'Usain Salt' and 'Snowbi-Gone Kenobi'

Following a successful naming competition, Warwickshire County Council have unveiled new images for each of its newly-named gritters.

Earlier in the Winter, Warwickshire County Council asked the public to pick names for its five new gritters, which had recently joined the County’s fleet.

The rules were simple: be creative, be original, be funny and the Warwickshire Public did not disappoint, with hundreds of suggestions coming in by email, by telephone and across social media channels.

Following a judging process the names selected for Warwickshire’s new gritters were:

~ Usain Salt

~ Professor Chris Gritty

~ Gritta Thunberg

~ Snowbi-Gone Kenobi

~ The Mighty Thaw

~ Charlie Boy

~ Grey13 Hero

~ Ice Maiden

Following the selection of these names, work has taken place to design an image to go with each name.

Two of the names chosen were particularly poignant and they have also received their own unique decal images.

Charlie Boy is named in memory of Charlie Round, a little boy from Nuneaton who sadly lost his battle with a rare form of childhood cancer in 2019. Charlie is remembered as a little boy who, despite facing incredible adversity, lit the world around him with an amazing smile and outlook.

Grey13 Hero is named in memory of Jack Mitchell (John Arthur Mitchell) and was put forward by his daughter, Alison Mitchell. Jack worked for Warwickshire County Council for more 50 years, including on the County’s gritting fleet at a time the service was carried out by shovelling the grit off the back of a truck as it went along Warwickshire’s essential routes. Grey13 was Jack’s call sign from his time working on the gritters.

Warwickshire residents are now encouraged to report sightings of the new gritters in action via their Social Media channels.

Cllr Jeff Clarke, Warwickshire County Council portfolio holder for transport and highways, said: “On behalf of the council I would like to offer thanks to all our residents who suggested names for our new gritters.

“One of the things to have come out of the pandemic has been a massive increase in the engagement with residents and the council on social media.

"This naming scheme has really benefitted; without it, we may never have heard about the stories of Charlie and Jack which would have been a shame as we were only too happy to help with a suitable tribute.

“Our gritting fleet in Warwickshire does a fantastic job keeping the network running smoothly across the winter months.

"The five new gritters joining the fleet are a welcome addition to our efforts as a council of ensuring residents are supported by excellent transport infrastructure.

“Our newest gritters have been selected based on their low emissions so that we are keeping our commitment to doing all that we can, within our business, of reducing our Carbon footprint and minimise our impact on climate change.”