THEY are the vehicles that council chiefs’ hope will keep Hampshire’s economy moving in extreme weather.

Hampshire County Council says that their fleet of winter vehicles will be on 24-hour standby seven days a week from October to April 2016 to deal with winter weather.

Now the fleet of 51 gritters have been given special names by primary school children in the county including Mr Grit, Rainbow Rocks and even Mr Plough, which was made famous in TV show The Simpsons.

The fleet have already been out on the roads to ensure they are ready for action when the weather takes a turn for the worst.

As well as this, around 3,700 community salt bins are being filled so people can play their part, keeping smaller roads and pavements clear of snow and ice in bad weather.

With some 5280 miles of road to cover, highways teams will treat them on a priority basis. Priority one routes in the county are those which carry the majority of total traffic.

These include A roads, some B roads and major bus routes as well as roads to major emergency services and of course, areas of high traffic.

These routes are routinely treated when the road surface temperature is forecast to plummet below freezing and ice and frost is predicted.

It can take up to three and a half days to treat one of these routes completely.

While priority two routes which include B roads and single access roads to villages will be treated during prolonged severe weather.

To decide when and where to salt a road, the teams use a special, dedicated weather forecast and their own ‘icelert’ system.

Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “This year’s fleet is more impressive than ever with a higher proportion of advanced dedicated spreaders out on the road to tackle what might be coming our way.

“With the opening of our two new salt storage barns at Broadmarsh in Havant, last year, we have plenty of salt to spread on Hampshire’s major road network should we experience a prolonged dip in temperatures.

“Our priority is to keep Hampshire moving throughout the winter and for residents to be able to go about their day to day business, accessing key amenities such as hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and schools.

“However, we do ask for a little help from Hampshire’s residents – salt bins are out there to be used for the benefit of your local community so please do help yourselves and your neighbours should the time arise.”

l For more information on winter maintenance essentials please visit: hants.gov.uk/wintermaintenance.