A comic book hero is set to keep Dumfries and Galloway motorists safe during the winter months.
The latest gritter to join the Econ team responsible for treating trunk roads in south west Scotland has been named Brrr…Nanaman – inspired by Beano superhero Bananaman.
This year marks a decade of Amey naming gritters on behalf of Transport Scotland, with other names including Gritty Gonzales, Irn-Bru’s Grits You Through and Tunnock’s Caramelt Wafer.
And with Brr…Nanaman set to hit the roads, Amey is now looking for suggestions for names for its next batch of gritters.
Business director for Amey Transport infrastructure Scotland and Northern Ireland, Roddy Clark, said: “Winter in Scotland can present challenges for the travelling public and our winter service team whose hard work is often overlooked.
“The practice of gritter naming illuminates what we do to keep people moving safely and has been embraced globally. We are delighted to partner with Beano, the iconic Scottish brand, to celebrate 10 years and promote vital winter safety messaging.
“Like Bananaman, our dedicated winter service duty officers are ever alert for the call to action.”
Amey gritters treat 400 miles of trunk road from Glasgow down to Dumfries and Galloway and for winter 2024/25 they amassed 24,000 tonnes of road salt, 231,000 litres of brine, and 50,000 litres of potassium acetate, all overseen by 10 winter service duty officers (WSDO).
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Gritter names can be submitted at swtrunkroads.scot and will feature on social media and the live gritter tracker.
Director of mischief at Beano Studios, Mike Stirling, said: “Bananaman’s peeling confident! After 45 years in comics, he’s going to become a real-life hero for Scotland’s motorists in his bravest and grittiest adventure ever.
“The moment’s ripe for this initiative with the winter service team who show the greatest sense of humour while dealing with a serious situation.
“Brrr…Nanaman will be handy for a bunch of bendy routes in the region. As our Man of Peel told me, Scotland’s roads are like good banana bread; they should never be iced.”