Lorry lass Heather is turning heads

For Heather Prentice, of Allalea, near Creca, has recently passed her class two driving test and is set to board her very own milk tanker in the next few days.
The 18-year-old, who is halfway through a driving goods apprenticeship with Arla Foods at Lockerbie, is one of six apprentices currently undergoing training at the firm – and was the first to pass the practical test.
Heather, who hopes to join the family business Sharp Transport one day, said: “My dad has got lorries so I’ve taken a fascination to driving over the years.
“I notice folk looking when I’m in the tanker and a lot of people don’t believe that I drive a lorry. “Someone turned round recently when I said I was learning to drive a lorry and they wouldn’t believe me as they thought I was too small.”
Heather’s pick-up points will extend from Castle Douglas to Penrith and she can’t wait to get behind the wheel – although she will be accompanied for the first few journeys until she feels confident enough to go alone.
Meanwhile, fellow apprentice Callum Sturgeon was also celebrating a pass this week.
The 25-year-old, of Dumfries, is full of praise for the apprenticeship scheme and hopes to sit his class one test in the near future.
He added: “I’d not had a steady job for a few years so I thought this was a great opportunity to get my licence and a job at the end of it.
“If anyone wants to get a lorry licence then this is the way to go for it as the training is fantastic.Ilike the look of this job so my ambition is to stick with Arla.”