Atherstone residents have today (Thursday, October 22) been offered the slightly unusual chance to name one of Warwickshire County Council's five new gritters.

The council's gritting fleet recently gained five new low-emission models in line with Warwickshire County Council's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. They will be put into service this winter to maintain roads across Warwickshire.

The council is now seeking help from residents to give the new gritters names, which will be proudly displayed on each of the new vehicles.

What are the rules?

- Send your name suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet them on Twitter: @Warwickshire_CC or Direct Message them on Facebook: Warwickshire County Council

- Name suggestions should be creative and funny, but please keep them clean.

- Suggestions will be accepted up to the end of Sunday 15 November.

After this time, officers from the Council will select their favourite names.

The council have also already addressed the first question on everyone's minds "Gritty McGritface? Nope! True Grit? A good one, but nope. Both these names are already the names of gritters in Shropshire and Doncaster Council's respective gritting fleets."

The county holds around 14,000 Tonnes of salt in stock across five depots at the start of winter and in an average winter it will get through around 12,000 tonnes. Salt stocks are kept topped up in case of prolonged spells of cold and icy weather.

Cllr Jeff Clarke, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said "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.

"We have selected the models 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.

"I am looking forward to hearing from residents their suggestions for names for our five new gritters!"

For more information about how Transport and Highways in Warwickshire, visit the county council website.