A HEYBRIDGE school pupil has won a competition to name a gritter lorry.

Essex County Council asked school pupils to name ten of its 64 strong fleet which help to spread 20,000 tonnes of salt each winter.

Winning entries included Alexander the Grit, Gritney Spears and Mrs Good Grit.

Frank Dibley, pupil at Heybridge Primary School, will have his entry of Ice Buster branded on one of the ten lorries.

His name was picked out by Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, and Eddie Johnson, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Delivery.

The winning schools will now have a free ice and fire workshop delivered courtesy of the Essex Country Parks Outdoor Learning Team.

Last Wednesday school pupils also got a visit from one of the gritters used across the county.

Mr Gooding said: “We received some excellent and very imaginative entries from school pupils across Essex.

“I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing them all and am delighted the winners will now get the opportunity to continue their learning by taking part in workshops delivered by our Country Parks staff.”

Mr Johnson added: “I hope this competition has been good fun for the pupils involved and also taught them a bit more about road safety and what we do to keep our roads safe in icy weather.”