Think of long-distance lorry driving and the sort of image that springs to mind is a Yorkie bar-munching, bearded man wearing a string vest. But that isn't always the case.

WHAT do you get if you cross a glamorous 27-year-old blonde with a 45 foot articulated lorry?

The answer is trucker Rhian Hughes, of Clayton-le-Moors.

She is one of just a handful of women — fewer than 10 per cent to be precise — to get behind the wheel in the male-dominated haulage business.

Following in her dad’s footsteps, the petite mother-of-two has just about every type of vehicle listed on her driving licence. She can drive wagons of every size, tow hazardous goods and while on maternity leave Rhian ahe gained her HGV operating licence, which means she can also run her own haulage company.

“I love it,“ said Rhian, the only female driver at family business Earl Transport, Clayton-le-Moors. “It’s a great feeling, being so high up, cruising the roads. And it’s so funny when you pull up next to other drivers or another trucker. They can’t believe it. The look on their faces is hilarious.

“When I did my latest HGV test, I had a real sense of girl power, “said Rhian, who could drive a car at the age of 14 and first drove her dad’s truck at 17.

“I remember when I was waiting in the test centre with all the guys, you could tell they were wondering what I was doing there. And I was the only one who passed that day,” she laughed.

Since a very young age Rhian has always been a tomboy, although you’d never know it to look at her.

She enjoys shopping and loves a new bargain but, for her, nothing beats getting behind the wheel of an HGV. That and her latest hobby — renovating a custard yellow 1972 VW Beetle.

“I’m such a bloke, aren’t I?” she laughed. “I’m always at the yard, whether I’m working on the Beetle or driving the trucks. I do like to be a girl. I’m good at shopping and I have my nails done. I might not look it but I’m a real tomboy.”

One day Rhian, who previously worked as a manager at Hollands Pies, will run the haulage company, based in Blackburn Road, Clayton-le-Moors, but she will never stop driving the trucks.

Once a rare sight on British roads, women lorry drivers are gradually increasing in number. Better technology has made the driving easier and, along with female-friendly policies, is helping to erode what was once a male preserve.

And Rhian says women actually make better truck drivers than men.

“A lot of people think of trucks as these massive things but they’re not hard to drive.

"My instructor said women are better drivers because they listen more,” said Rhian, of Earl Street, Clayton-le-Moors.

“I do have to go into all the truckers' cafes, with their chipped mugs, and at first they didn’t understand what I was doing there.

"They’d say, ‘do you want a china cup and will you be wanting a low-fat breakfast?’ and I’d say ‘no. I want breakfast like the rest of you pease.’

“But I’ve got to know a lot of them around the country now, so it’s great.

"They try and help me unload because it’s really quite tough, but I like to do it myself.

"Sometimes I do have to put my feet on the side of the wagon to drag things out, though,” laughed Rhian, who has already been nominated for several industry awards.

“My partner Rick hates that I can drive more vehicles than him.

"I always try and tell him how to drive because I’m more qualified.”

Rhian speaks regularly at Road Haulage Association meetings to encourage more women drivers.

She added: “We’re a trucking family. I’m going to encourage my two boys to get into it.

"My youngest, Hugh — he’s only-three-and-half weeks — already has a high-visibility jacket with ‘mummy’s little trucker’ on it.

“When I tell people what I do for a job they don’t believe me half the time.

"Trucking is traditionally a man’s world and men are still getting used to us being part of it but I feel like I’m slowly starting to make a difference.”