Manchester City Council has revealed it’s new names for it’s fleet of gritters that were chosen by a public vote.

Several UK councils and organisations have run similar competitions in the past, which has resulted in a number of numerous names being given to vehicles.

The city council asked for suggestions on Twitter and received more than 2,000, but it has since whittled these down with the help of the public.

Among the names chosen for its new fleet are Basil Salty, Grit Astley and Snowbi-Gone Kenobi. Local hero Noel Gallagher was also honoured with a truck named Snowel Gallagher, while environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg was recognised with a vehicle called Gritter Thunberg.

Eight new trucks have been purchased by the council thanks to a £960,000 investment to ensure more than 700km (435 miles) of Manchester’s roads are treated in icy conditions.

The other winning names include Spreaddie Flintoff, Spreaddie Mercury and Slushay Away. As part of this campaign, residents will be able to keep track of the trucks via ‘track my gritter’ software, which will also work with Amazon’s Alexa platform so that people can see whether vehicles have been driven around where they live.

Councillor Angeliki Stogia, executive member for the environment, planning and transport, said: “So many suggestions were received that it was hard to whittle them down, but the public decided on some cracking names for our new gritters – including a Mancunian connection in Snowel Gallagher.

“I’m also proud that we are one of the first councils to introduce innovative ways in which residents can find out in real-time about our winter service, through the use of new technology.

“And people might see the name they voted for on the roads, meaning that the vehicles will be spreading a little cheer, as well as grit, throughout the winter months”.