Snowvid-19? Vote to name Shropshire's gritters this winter
Residents are being urged to vote in a competition to name Shropshire's gritters this winter.
A total of 50 names have been shortlisted from more than 750 suggestions made – with many clearly influenced by the events of 2020.
Some of the names include Super Spreader, Snowcial Distancing and Snowvid-19, along with Chris Gritty, Captain Tom and Snow Wicks.
There are also nods to famous musicians, including Melton John, Lewis Caploughdi, David Plowie and Lionel Gritchie, as well as to film and TV, with Hugh Lorrie, Gritter Garbo, Meryl Sweep and Robert Ploughney Jr. Gritain's Got Talent, The Grittiest Showman, Gritty Woman, Spreddie Flintoff and Jon Snow also making the list.
From the world of sport, Roger Spreaderer and Usain Salt make an appearance, and Gritty McGritface is there too.
Three of the gritters will continue to be named after local youngsters Zac Oliver, Charlie Desmond and Jack Edwards.
One is to be named The Harry Johnson Trust, in memory of local boy Harry Johnson, and to help raise awareness of the charity set up in his name
And one is to be named after Percy Mullaly, long-serving car park attendant at Shirehall in Shrewsbury who passed away earlier this year.
Response
That leaves 20 names left to be chosen.
Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We asked for people to suggest names for our gritters and we’ve had a fantastic response, with more than 750 suggestions made. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who suggested a name.
“Our ‘experts’ have considered all of the suggestions and have drawn up a shortlist of the 50 best or most popular names and there are some really good ones. I don’t think it’ll be easy for people to pick their favourites but I hope they’ll have a go.”
In mid-October people were invited to suggest names for the 25 vehicles in the Shropshire Highways fleet.
The 50 names have been randomly placed into five groups of 10. People can vote for up to four in each group.
The four most popular names in each group – 20 names in total – will then be given to the gritters before they hit the roads this winter.
Voting ends at 12 noon on Wednesday, November 25, with the winning names announced shortly afterwards.
To cast a vote visit shropshire.gov.uk/nameourgritters
