It's not the ice cream 'good guys' we need to worry about

An ice cream vendor has strongly expressed the view that we're giving her trade a bad name by highlighting that some ice cream vans have been found to sell illegal tobacco. The reality is that the great majority of vans are run by decent and honest people. But just like any other trade - whether it's builders or money lenders - there are the rogues. The sad fact is that some ice cream vans have been found to be doubling up as mobile shops for tobacco, alcohol, and pornography and there've been successful prosecutions in the North and elsewhere in the UK. It's likely that your local ice cream van only brings you the guilty pleasure of a cone or a lolly. But if they - or anybody else in your area, whether it's from a burger van, shop, or private address - are selling other products such as we've mentioned here and you want to tell somebody about it you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or speak to your local trading standards department or neighbourhood police team.