New gritters named after a grime artist and an American literary classic are keeping Hackney moving following a naming ceremony this week.

Named by kids at Grazebrook Primary School and Millfields Community School Primary School, Gritty Rascal and The Great Gritsby are two brand new state-of-the-art gritters helping to keep the borough’s roads clear from snow.

The move was inspired by a competition hosted in Scotland to name the nation’s fleet of gritters. The Council’s environmental services team put the call out to primary schools in Hackney who suggested names then voted for by members of the public on social media.

Gritty Rascal and The Great Gritsby won out, followed closely by Ice Ice Baby and Grita Thunberg.

Supplied by Bucher Municipal on a Scania chassis, the new gritters are the greenest ever operated by Hackney Council, running entirely on hydrotreated vegetable oil, which has a CO2 footprint 92% lower than standard road diesel.

A snow plough can be mounted on the front of each gritter and its chain conveyor - which distributes the rock salt - is designed to last the entire lifetime of the machine.

When not in use as a gritter, each unit can be mounted with a crash protection barrier to provide protection for Council street cleaning or road maintenance operatives working in moving traffic. 

During icy or snowy weather, Transport for London grits red routes in the borough, with the Council clearing other priority routes and pavements. More information about about the routes and prioritisation can be found at: https://hackney.gov.uk/gritting