An iconic winter gritter is getting a festive makeover, thanks to volunteers from Ripon and more than 1,000 balls of wool.
Econ Energy has partnered with a famous local knitting group to create a giant Christmas jumper and hat for one of its gritters.
Measuring 32 ft by 28 ft, the Christmas jumper has been handcrafted by members of the Ripon Community Poppy Project, to spread some joy for the festive season.
Dressed in its new outfit, Goldie the gritter is set to embark on a 900 mile tour of the UK.
It will be visiting schools near Econ’s regional depots, where the important role Econ’s gritters play in keeping the roads safe will be explained to the school children.
The students will then take part in a competition to design their very own jumper for Goldie.
The gritter was built in 2019 with the latest gritting technology, to commemorate Econ’s 50th anniversary.
No stranger to the roads, Goldie has travelled the country to train future gritter drivers and visit schools during educational visits.
The gritters new festive jumper is one of the Ripon Community Poppy Project’s biggest creations, taking 35 volunteers a total of 4,500 hours over the last 12 months to create it.
Formed in 2017, the project is well known for commemorating remembrance and other national events with their knitted poppies and other projects.
Every Monday a Knit and Natter group is hosted, bringing people together aged from 30 – 90 from across the community.
The group recently received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, in honour of their work in the Ripon community and beyond.
Econ Engineering, the UK’s leading manufacturer of winter maintenance and highways vehicles, has been manufacturing winter and road maintenance vehicles at its factory in Ripon since 1969.
Jonathan Lupton, Managing Director at Econ, said: “At Econ, we have a long history of supporting community projects so were delighted to partner with the talented volunteers at the Ripon Community Poppy Project to spread some extra joy this Christmas.
“Our gritter vehicles and their drivers are the unsung heroes of winter, so it’s been fantastic to celebrate our mission to keep the nation’s roads safe and moving by giving Goldie the Gritter her first jumper and hat to wear ahead of our busy winter season.”
Stuart Martin MBE, Chairman of the Ripon Community Poppy Project, said: “Creating this jumper and hat for Goldie the Gritter has been such a joy for our volunteers.
“Since we started the Ripon Community Poppy Project in 2017, our mission has been to bring our community closer together and this project has allowed us to do just that, with our dedicated and creative volunteers spending hours crafting each stitch to bring Goldie’s jumper to life.
“It’s been wonderful to see Goldie in her new outfit and we hope she brings lots of joy to the schools she visits on her tour of the UK.”
You can look out for Goldie the gritter this festive season, beep beep!