Stobart launches truck competition

Transport giant Eddie Stobart has launched a national truck spotting competition giving members of the public an opportunity to name an Eddie Stobart truck.

Stobart, headquartered in Cumbria with centres in Warrington and Widnes among its 6m sq ft portfolio, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

The green and red coloured trucks are all emblazoned with a girl's name on the front of each cab and usually only people from the Stobart Club, consisting of 15,000 members, are able to request a name for a Stobart truck, which has a three year waiting list.

However, in order to celebrate its ruby anniversary, Eddie Stobart is giving all members of the public the chance to jump the three year queue and personalise their very own vehicle.

Every month from May until December 2010, Stobart is placing one truck onto its fleet that has no name. This un-named truck will instead bear a question mark on the front of the cab where the girl's name is normally displayed. Anyone who spots this truck must note down the time and location and register it using the online form at www.clubstobart.co.uk. At the end of each month, an entry will be chosen at random and they will receive the chance to name the truck they have spotted.

To give everyone a fair chance, Stobart said a different depot location across the UK will be chosen for each un-named vehicle.

Andrew Tinkler, Stobart Group's chief executive, said: "This national competition is a great way for us to give something back and to get more members of the public spotting our trucks – the chance to name a truck doesn't come around often so it really is a unique opportunity."

The very first Eddie Stobart truck was christened Twiggy in 1976 and an enthusiastic band of 'Stobart Spotters' has recorded each sighting of an Eddie Stobart vehicle on the UK's roads and motorways ever since.

There are nearly 2,000 Eddie Stobart trucks on the UK's road network to date.