Cambridgeshire’s dragon patchers are to be officially named by the public as they mark their first year of service in the county.

Cambridgeshire's dragon patchers are to be officially named by the public as they mark their first year of service in the county.

Residents are being asked to suggest names for the dragon duo through social media, and are advised to get involved by using the hashtag '#DragonsOfCambs'.

Just like gritters such as Gritney Spears, Brad Grit, Usain Salt and crew, Cambridgeshire Highways is looking for creative and imaginative names for their work colleagues, welcoming as many (clean) puns as possible.

In partnership with Skanska, the campaign will run across Cambridgeshire County Council's Twitter and Facebook channels, which started yesterday and runs until Monday, September 2.

Councillor Mathew Shuter, chair of Cambridgeshire County Council's highways and infrastructure committee, said: "Our dragon patchers play a vital role in helping us to tackle the pothole issues around the county.

"This social media campaign, whilst is a bit of fun, will help to inform residents about potholes, how to report them and the innovative techniques we are using to improve our roads."

Working alongside crews, the fiery machines have helped to slay more than 58,000 potholes since they flew into the county last August, playing a crucial part in the fight against potholes.

Competition winners following the social media campaign will be invited to a reveal event where the names will be unveiled.

Richard Kingston, Skanska operations manager for Cambridgeshire Highways, said: "Since the introduction of the two dragon patchers to Cambridgeshire, we're able to deliver a more efficient, faster and cleaner road maintenance service, while at the same time increasing the quality and longevity of our pothole repairs.

"This competition is a great opportunity to engage our community in the work that we do as part of Cambridgeshire Highways.

"The names chosen for the gritters are some of the best I've seen, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the local people will come up with for the dragons."

Residents must send in their suggestions by Thursday, August 22, and in the words of Cllr Shuter, "remember to keep them clean and original."

Voting will open on Tuesday, August 27 and close on September 2.