TO PROMOTE the national Love The Lorry Week Horsepower’s Nathalie Axon and Jan Carter parked a £90,000 Mercedes Actros truck unit outside Tesco in Northwich.

The Love The Lorry Week was organised by the Road Haulage Association as part of its drive to raise awareness of the vital role the UK’s haulage industry plays in the nation’s daily life.

The week was aimed at raising the profile of the industry as an essential service provider and as an excellent and often overlooked career opportunity.

Truck drivers Nathalie and Jan launched Horsepower, a new HGV training school, last year.

Horsepower is designed to get more women interested in the logistics industry, with just one per cent of HGV drivers being women.

Horsepower encourages women to undertake HGV training through taster days run by qualified HGV drivers.

Nathalie and Jan were joined for the Love The Lorry event at Tesco during half-term week by veterinary nurse Sarah Hayes.

Sarah, 53, from Northwich, had never driven anything larger than a small van before attending a truck taster day organised by Horsepower at the Oulton Park circuit.

Twelve months on Sarah has trained with Horsepower and taken both her truck licences, and is now qualified to drive 44-ton articulated vehicles.

“I’ve always loved looking at trucks and wondered how cool it would be to be able to drive one," said Sarah, who will now drive part-time for Warrington-based Mark Thompson Transport while continuing her work at Ark Veterinary Surgery in Northwich.

For details on Horsepower visit horsepowerwoman.co.uk or horsepowerman.com.