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Taylor Drift and Salter Claus among gritter names

Lili Sheppard,in Aylesfordand
Tanya Gupta,South East
BBC A group of children wearing high-visibility safety vests stand in front of gritter vehicles at Kent County Council's Aylesford depot. Councillor Peter Osborne in orange high-visibility clothing and a hard hat stands behind them. Several yellow-and-white gritters, barriers and depot buildings are visible in the background on a wet day.BBC
Children who helped choose the winning names attended the annual gritter parade

The public has named 62 gritters that will spread salt on Kent's roads this winter, with the winners including Gritney Spears, Sleetwood Mac and Taylor Drift.

Children from school holiday clubs were at Kent County Council's (KCC) Aylesford highway depot, where the winning names were unveiled and the gritter lorries took to the road for the first time in an annual "gritting parade".

Other winning entries inspired by music stars and films included David Ploughie, Skate Bush, Spready Mercury, Snow-Be-Gone Kenobi and Gritty Gritty Bang Bang.

Toby Howe, the council's winter service manager, said KCC had 62 brand new trucks this year.

'Very cool' trucks

Councillor Peter Osborne said children had been asked to draw pictures of the gritters and put ideas for names in a hat.

He said his favourite was Grittersaurus Rex, which has returned for a second year, adding: "I think she's a star."

Pupils Isiah and Francesco said their number one choice was Salter Claus.

Francesco said he had been excited to see the "very cool" lorries, and Isiah said he was waiting to see the trucks move, adding: "I'm excited to see it spray the salt."

The children were being shown how gritters operate, why winter maintenance is important and how gritters help to keep roads safe in colder weather.

Several children wearing bright yellow safety vests stand behind a barrier watching a line of yellow-and-white gritter trucks move through a depot yard. Large storage buildings, service vehicles and wet concrete surfaces are visible under grey skies as the gritters take part in a parade before the winter season.
Children watched the newly-named gritters as they took to the road

Howe said the new fleet included safety features such as cameras and lighting to help the driver see what was happening, and cyclist protection barriers.

The aim was to keep the drivers and other road users safe, he added, and said the drivers were the first on the roads when tackling snow and ice.

"Back in January, we had a lot of ice, thick ice, very icy roads for days on end," he said.

"So as well as keeping everybody else safe, the guys and girls driving these trucks have got to take extra care as well."

A yellow-and-white gritter truck named "Claudia Sprinkleman" is parked at Kent County Council's Aylesford depot on a wet, overcast day. The vehicle is viewed from the front, showing roof-mounted lights, a large black front attachment and a white salt hopper behind the cab. Industrial buildings, trailers and depot equipment can be seen in the background.
The gritter Claudia Sprinkleman was among 62 vehicles given names by the public ahead of the winter season.

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