Buzz Ice Clear & Spready Mercury: Bradford schoolchildren name gritters
"Brontë Blizzard Buster" and "Gritzilla" are among other names chosen by local children
BRADFORD children have helped name a fleet of gritting wagons, giving them monikers including Buzz Ice Clear and Spready Mercury.
Bradford Council’s Winter Maintenance Team has been visiting primary schools across the district as part of its ‘Name the Gritter’ initiative, which gives pupils the chance to choose a name for one of five of their gritters wagons.
The winning names, which are displayed on the vehicles as they operate across the Bradford district throughout the winter, often featuring tongue-in-cheek wordplay and witty puns linked to gritting and snow clearing.
With the District facing a snowy blast at the end of this week, residents may see some of the newly named vehicles doing the rounds.
As part of the initiative the school children can get up close to the vehicle, ask questions to those who drive them and are involved in the annual snow clearing operation about how it works and sometimes even sit inside the cab.
This year’s school visits include St Paul’s CE Primary School in Wibsey, Ingrow Primary School in Keighley, Thornbury Primary Leadership Academy, Atlas Primary School in Manningham and Myrtle Park Primary School in Bingley.
At St Paul’s CE Primary School, pupils chose “Spready Mercury”, inspired by the legendary Queen singer.
Ingrow Primary School took inspiration from the school’s close ties to Haworth and the area’s strong literary heritage and selected “Brontë Blizzard Buster.”
Pupils at Thornbury Primary Leadership Academy named their gritter “Gritzilla” inspired by the popular atomic kaiju.
Atlas Primary School chose the name “The Gritalo”, influenced by the children’s recent reading of The Gruffalo.
Pupils at Myrtle Park Primary School selected the name “Buzz Ice Clear”, based on the Toy Story hero.
Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Mohammed Shafiq attended the visits to St Paul’s CE Primary School and Ingrow Primary School. The visits to Thornbury Primary Leadership Academy and Atlas Primary School were attended by Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Fozia Shaheed. Bingley ward Councillor Fricker visited Myrtle Park Primary School, where one of the pupils was made mini-Lord Mayor for the day as part of the initiative.
The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Mohammed Shafiq said: “It was a real pleasure to meet the pupils and hear their fantastic questions during our visits. Initiatives like this help children understand the vital work carried out by council teams every day, and the creativity and enthusiasm shown by the pupils when naming the gritters was wonderful to see.”
Information about gritting including a map of gritting routes can be found on the council’s website at www.bradford.gov.uk/winter