'Spready Mercury' will help keep pavements clear near Bridgnorth school
Shropshire schools are being invited to work with Shropshire Council to tackle the problem of icy pavements.
The first to take up the offer is Castlefields Primary School, in Bridgnorth, which has been provided with bags of salt and a pedestrian salt spreader, which can be used to treat paths during spells of wintry weather.
The school is looking forward to making use of their new spreader next winter, and has already held a competition asking pupils to suggest a name for it – with Spready Mercury the winning name.
Spready Mercury will be used by the school caretaker to treat icy paths and pavements leading up to Castlefields School.
Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for children and education, said: “Working with schools is a great way to ensure that the approach to each school is treated during spells of icy weather, and to help children stay safe on their way to and from school.
“We approached Castlefields directly to see if they would like to work together and got a great response. If any other schools would like to work with us we invite them to let us know.”
Castlefields Primary headteacher Rebecca Lee said: “We are so grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with Shropshire Council in this way. We will be able to monitor the situation locally and use our salt spreader when necessary. We ran a competition in school to name our new salt spreader and would like to congratulate Hugo for his choice of name, Spready Mercury.”
Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “With hundreds of miles of roads and pavements in the county, it’s just not possible for us to treat all roads and pavements in the county – though we will treat pavements near schools during prolonged spells of sub-zero temperatures.
“Providing schools with salt and a spreader means that they can treat pavements at all other times, when temperatures drop and pavements may be icy.”
