MEET Dunstable and Houghton Regis’s knight in shining armour should heavy snow hit again this year.
Pictured with four-year-old Perla Heley-Weatherley, White Knight will lead Central Beds Council’s fleet of brand new gritters into battle against the elements this winter.
Dunstable tot Perla named the giant vehicle after her suggestion was picked from nearly 100 entries as part of the council’s annual winter driving campaign.
The youngster said about her entry: “White is for the snow and knight as the gritter’s keep our roads and drivers safe.”
She met with Councillor Brian Spurr and Councillor Budge Wells, at the Dunstable Depot last week to see ‘White Knight’ being officially unveiled just in time for the cold snap.
Councillor Spurr said: “Not only would I like to congratulate Perla on her winning entry, but take the opportunity to thank all those who entered, it was very difficult deciding as there were some great ideas put forward.
“The annual winter driving campaign provides advice and tips on how road users can stay safe during the winter months, as well as keeping people up to date with our extensive winter maintenance programme.”
As part of this year’s maintenance programme the fleet will be carrying out as many as six daily salting runs in the most severe weather. The 18-strong vehicle fleet will also carry real-time tracking so base crews can see where they are, how fast they’re moving and how much salt they have spread.
Roads carrying the highest volume of traffic are gritted when road temperatures are expected to drop below zero and when they are expected to be damp.
Councillor Spurr added: “We keep in store more than 5,500 tonnes of salt – that’s enough to spread over 30,000 football pitches. With the average gritting run using seven tonnes of salt.
“As well as making sure priority roads are sufficiently salted, we have been working over the summer to repair around 1500 potholes caused by last years severe weather – investing over £200,000.
“We want every motorist to be prepared for driving in ice, fog and snow so we are advising people to follow the safety guidance about simple car checks before heading out.”