Meet Nicole Saltslinger: Oldham’s New Gritter Star
After a flurry of suggestions, Oldham Council has unveiled the name of its newest gritter – Nicole Saltslinger. Inspired by former Pussycat Doll and X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger, this bright yellow beast has become the country’s most talked-about vehicle recently.
Kids Prove Their Salt with Name Suggestions
The council challenged local primary school kids to ‘prove their salt’ by naming the latest addition to the gritter fleet. The entries snowballed fast – from cheeky picks like Gritney Houston and Spready Eddie to nods at Oldham Athletic’s Andy Ritchie, renamed Andy Gritchie.
The competition grabbed national headlines, storming newspapers, TV and radio. After sifting through hundreds of entries, the winner was 10-year-old Eve McGrath from Royton Hall Primary School, who nailed it with Nicole Saltslinger – a clever tribute to a Saturday night TV fave.
Gritter Naming Ceremony and Fleet Line-Up
Eve took centre stage at a special naming event at the Moorhey Street depot. Nicole Saltslinger now joins an all-star gritter squad: Freddie Salted, Grittersaurus, Goliath, Walter the Salter, Gritterbug, Gritney Spears, Gritanator, and Thor. Together, they’re Oldham’s frontline warriors against winter’s icy grip.
Council Praise and National Buzz
“Firstly we’d like to thank Eve for coming up with such a great name,” said Councillor Fida Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment Services. “The competition took off brilliantly, capturing imaginations locally and nationwide. We treated the silly suggestions with a pinch of salt!”
She added, “We ran a similar competition before, but this time it reached a whole new level. One tweet alone attracted over 70,000 interactions. Our gritters play a vital role keeping Oldham moving during snow and ice, and it’s great to combine fun with raising road safety awareness.”
