For the first time, a female driver will be gritting roads in Fife after staff from across the council were asked to step in to keep roads free from snow and ice during freezing conditions.
Jennifer McWhirter, a transport technician at Fife Council, agreed to take on weekday gritting shifts.
It means when she is on standby, she can be up at 4.30 am, work her shift and then finish just before her day job starts at 8am.
Jennifer said: ‘I've not had many experiences of extremely hazardous conditions but I do often think that I really have to have my wits about me driving this 24-tonne lorry on a stretch of road before any other vehicles have used it.
‘Similarly, when conditions can change quickly, I need to be alert. So I'm usually in bed by 9 when I know I'm on a 5am start.’
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