Meet the Bradford district’s first female gritter driver

Meet Nikki Francis the Bradford district’s first female gritter driver. At 55 Nikki who lives in Queensbury, an area of Bradford famous for its harsh winters, will become the district’s first female gritter driver.

When not gritting she’s is a stock control officer for the council’s Highways and Street Lighting team and has worked for Bradford Council since 2003.

Nikki has recently passed her Urban Driving apprenticeship and has obtained her Category C (heavy goods) licence, and following this has completed winter maintenance training and is now a fully-fledged gritter driver.

Nikki said: “Despite spending my working life in an office, I’ve always wanted to be a lorry driver. I had an uncle who used to drive an HGV, so I suppose that’s when the bug first hit, and I’ve now been able to cross something off my bucket list.”

So far Nikki has completed four gritting runs on her designated route and is enjoying the experience and has this advice for others wanting to follow in her footsteps: “Just go for it. Yes, the nerves are there, but they were when you drove a car for the first time - you just have to remember that you have even more responsibility driving an 11.5 tonne vehicle which when fully loaded with grit is around 18 tonnes.”

Nikki joins 48 other drivers who head out at often unsociable hours to treat the roads in the Bradford district. Bradford Council’s Priority One Routes cover over 62% of the road network in the district which is over 710 miles.

Each route takes around two to three hours to complete, but the work doesn’t stop when they get back to the depot as along with other checks of the vehicle, the drivers have to ensure that they empty out any remaining grit from the hopper and fully rinse down their vehicle before they finish.

Bradford Council has 24 gritter wagons, five of which have recently been given names by local school children. Glittery Ice Machine was named by children from Dixons Music Primary School. Whereas children from Burley Woodhead Primary School chose the name Grittle Mix and Steeton Primary School children chose Gritty Gritty Bang Bang. Thackley Primary School children chose Clearopathra and, Wuthering Ice was the name chosen by pupils at Co-Op Academy Southfield.

Information about Bradford Council’s gritting operation including a map of gritting routes and the location of grit bins across the district can be found on the council’s website www.bradford.gov.uk/winter