Nuthurst pupil Chloe wins Name the Gritter competition

Six-year-old Chloe Knapp's suggestion proved a winner in the West Sussex County Council/Balfour Beatty Living Places Name the Gritter competition.
Chloe is pictured with gritter driver Mick Honeywood, from Balfour Beatty Living PlacesChloe is pictured with gritter driver Mick Honeywood, from Balfour Beatty Living Places
Chloe is pictured with gritter driver Mick Honeywood, from Balfour Beatty Living Places

There were 320 entries from 23 schools, making the judges’ task choosing the winner very tough.

But they decided Chloe’s suggestion, ‘Walter the Salter’, was the best.

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It won her a high street voucher, plus a scooter-pod for her school – St Andrew’s Church of England Primary in Nuthurst.

A scooter-pod is similar to a bicycle rack but for scooters.

Runners-up were Lewis Beer at St Mary’s Primary School, Washington, with his suggestion, Melting Melvin, and Ruby Jenner at Thomas a’Becket Junior School, Worthing, and her ‘Gritty Greta’ entry.

The winning name, and suggested names from the runners-up, will be featured on chosen gritters.

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Bob Lanzer, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, said: “Congratulations to Chloe, Lewis and Ruby.

“The Name the Gritter contest has become a popular event with schoolchildren and this year’s competition generated 320 entries from 23 schools across the county. It helps to highlight the huge amount of hard work that goes into helping to keep roads safe during severe weather.”

The council has a fleet of 22 gritters to call upon through its contractor, Balfour Beatty Living Places, which provided the competition prizes.

During the winter period, the Balfour Beatty Living Places gritting team is on stand-by 24/7 and is ready to spring into action should the weather take a cold turn.

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Steve Phillips, Balfour Beatty Living Places West Sussex Contract Director, said: “We are delighted to support the ‘Name the Gritter’ competition as it raises awareness of the important winter maintenance work that takes place across the county to keep West Sussex on the move. This includes a variety of services ranging from precautionary treatments to snow clearance in extreme weather conditions.

“Our fleet of gritters is capable of covering a combined 994 miles on each gritting run and, with over 10,500 tonnes of salt stored across West Sussex, we are now looking forward to treating the county’s roads in our newly-named vehicles.”