Council killjoys rule 'annoying' ice-cream van jingles can only last for four seconds

By Tamara Cohen
21st July 2008

It is a quintessential sound of the summer - the chimes of the ice-cream van sending children running for a treat.

But the much-loved trade may be strangled by red tape, as council chiefs have ruled the cheerful jingle can only last for four seconds.

Council officials in Worcester say the tinkling of Greensleeves or Oranges and Lemons is an 'annoyance' to the public.

Annoyed: Ice-cream vendor Dean Clarke has criticised Worcester Council's 'silly' new rules

Sellers have been ordered they can only play a short blast every three minutes. And naturally it must never exceed 80 decibels at 25 feet away.

Furious ice-cream vendors have blasted the council's new list of 'Do's and don't's' for street vendors - saying bureaucracy will kill off the industry.

Dean Clarke, of Dean's Ices, said: 'I think it's silly and it will just speed up the death of what used to be a great British institution.

'We're already under threat from the supermarkets. It is something that kids used to look forward to, the ice-cream van coming round. Now they won't even have a clue now if there's one outside.

'Nobody can make a decent living out of it anymore.'

Under the draconian rules, ice-cream vans cannot sell within 50 metres of a school or place of worship. There must be no chiming before noon,  if a van is stationary or within two hours in the same street.

Tom Davidson, of the Ice Cream Alliance, who has been selling cornets for 39 years, said: 'I have never heard of anything so ridiculous.

'When I am out in the van I probably play a minute to let everyone know I am there, and there are that many obstructions that they are putting in our way.

'The council are totally out of touch with reality. I can honestly see mobiling gone within two years - it's depressing.'

Worcester City Council argue the rules will differentiate between fixed street traders, who fork out more than £3,000 a year for a licence, and mobile traders who pay just £87.

But opposition councillor Paul Denham said the new rules were 'unpoliceable'.

He added: 'I have personally never been disturbed by a van - and I have never been contacted by anyone in my constituency about it. This crackdown is a waste of time.'

Andy Fox, the council's senior licensing officer, said: 'It is not the intention to put anyone out of business, it's about the licensing section being able to license everyone legitimately and carry out enforcement if needed.

'We have had a number of complaints about one particular trader within the district and because the previous conditions were ambiguous it gave him a way off the hook. We just want traders to abide by the regulations that are laid down.'

The Rules

Ice cream vans should not sound chimes:

1. Before 12noon or after 7pm
2. To cause annoyance 
3. For longer than four seconds at a time, more than once every three minutes or more than once every two hours in the same street
4. When van is stationary
5. In sight of another trading ice cream van
6. Within 50metres (164feet) of schools during school hours
7. Within 50metres (164feet) of any place of worship on a day of worship
8. Unless they are quieter than 80 decibels at 7.5metres (25feet) away 
9. In a narrow or restricted place,