‘Snowel Gallagher’ and ‘Gritter Thunberg’ will keep Manchester moving this winter

Manchester will tackle wintery weather with added grit this year after a fleet of new salt-spreaders were christened by a pun-tastic Twitter poll.

Eight new gritters will hit the streets emblazoned with names suggested by the public, as part of a £960,000 investment in maintaining Manchester’s roads.

Around 2,000 suggestions were submitted to the council before being whittled down to 24 of the best and being put to a social media vote.

The new vehicles will be named:

• Basil Salty
• Grit Astley
• Gritter Thunberg
• Slushay Away
• Snowbi-Gone Kenobi
• Snowel Gallagher
• Spreaddie Flintoff
• Spreaddie Mercury

Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “So many suggestions were received that it was hard to whittle them down, but the public decided on some cracking names for our new gritters - including a Mancunian connection in 'Snowel Gallagher'.

“Our investment in these vehicles will help to ensure that our roads, footways and cycle lanes are kept safe and accessible in the face of harsh weather.  And people might see the name they voted for on the roads, meaning that the vehicles will be spreading a little cheer, as well as grit, throughout the winter months.”

The bright orange vehicles could spread thousands of tonnes of rock salt, stored at the council’s depot, in an effort to keep over 430 miles of Manchester’s streets moving.

Winter services will be active from October until April each year and include cycleways and footways being treated with a special liquid de-icer.

New ‘track my gritter’ software will be available on the council’s website in the near future, allowing residents to check whether Grit Astley or Basil Salty are in the area.

Curious locals will even have the chance to ask their smart speakers “Has my area been gritted?” thanks to innovations from Truview Visuals.

Councillor Stogia said: "I'm also proud that we are one of the first councils to introduce innovative ways in which residents can find out in real time about our winter service, through the use of new technology."

• What to do if you get stuck behind a gritter
• The 10 biggest winter driving myths revealed
• Advice for safe driving on ice
• Fined driver shows how not to clear a windscreen this winter
• Motorist caught driving with ‘unbelievable’ snow-covered windscreen

Worried about getting stuck behind a gritter? Check out our highly situational but occasionally very useful guide!

What’s your favourite gritter name from the above? Or perhaps you’ve got some suggestions of your own? Let us know in the comments.