IT will certainly stand out in the snow....

Yorkshire Gritters have taken delivery of their specially designed PINK gritter - and now they have launched a competition to christen it!

The firm, which helps to keep us moving during the winter months by helping to clear snow and ice from businesses such as GP surgeries and factories around Yorkshire and beyond, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

And what better way to mark the occasion.....

Managing director, Chris Johnson, explains the idea to add a new gritter to the fleet - and to paint it pink - was to support cancer fundraising.

Chris' late father, Roger, had lung cancer. "Having lost my father to lung cancer I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to get us and our customers behind raising some funds to help fight cancer along with more grass routes local charities that really make a difference," he explains.

The idea was discussed with James Wilson, managing director of Vale engineering, who created the pink gritter.

Says James: “We build Gritters that go all over the country in various sizes, and whilst we normally paint them in Highway yellow we really thought Chris’s idea was awesome and seized the opportunity to help”.

The Vale TS1200 trailed Gritter, which is designed and built in York, will complement an existing fleet that maintains private sites for Businesses/Factories and Medical sectors geographically from Liverpool across to Scunthorpe and down into Nottingham.

The Gritter, featuring the words 'spreading magic fairy dust,' has already gained a following on social media and will be used throughout the Summer to promote the cause at various local and national events.

Customers will be given the option to have their name on the side of the gritter or donate anonymously with regular updates on the Yorkshire Gritters website.

Meanwhile ideas for suitable names for the UK’S First Pink Vale gritter are being sought. Email your suggestions to gritters@yorkshiregritters.co.uk or you can also tweet your suggestions to Yorkshire Gritters.