Ice cream vendors could be forced to give up their livelihoods if fuel prices rise, industry bosses have warned.
The stalwart purveyors of frozen treats are a welcome sight in summer, but their delivery trucks use diesel-guzzling engines.
Many need to keep their vehicles running while stationary and can cover many miles traveling to events or profitable patches.
Maurice “Moz” Murray, chairman of the industry association, said of this summer: “Without a doubt we will lose vans.”
The cost of petrol has skyrocketed in recent days, with the average liter of unleaded petrol costing 182.31p and diesel costing 188.05p.
Mr Murray said the Ice Cream Mobilisers and Associated Trades Alliance (ICMAT) and its 2,500 members from Scotland to Cornwall were “deeply concerned”.
“It only gets worse in the summer when we go to different events over the summer holidays,” he said.
Mr Murray, who trades in Lancashire, said the industry was at breaking point and recent fuel hikes threatened to put some out of business.
“My own fuel costs have increased by a good third,” he said. “Ice is not a necessity. It’s a luxury. People have to do without luxury.”
Hull resident Lawrence Glauser said he went from £25 a day on diesel for his Mercedes Sprinter van to around £50.
He explained that Mr Whippy machines must be plugged into the mains or run by the van’s engine, which must be kept running.
“It works a bit like the air conditioning in a car,” says Glauser. “From 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., my van chugs away.”
Ian Smith, whose company Mr Whippy Leeds operates a fleet of eight vans, said paying over £100 to fill up a van “is [previously] outrageous”.
“Not everyone can stomach the extra expense, especially if they drive around or travel a long way to work sites,” he said.
Mr Smith said there is currently no viable alternative to diesel.
“We’re staying with it until someone develops an electric van that can carry the weight we need,” he said. “But even then the current will increase.”
Mr Glauser insists he will not switch to selling softscoop ice cream stored in battery-powered freezers.
He said: “I’m a Mr. Whippy man, not a shovel man. If I can’t afford to keep the engine running, I guess I’ll just be another ice cream man biting the dust.”
Mr. Glauser, who has been in the industry since 2000, said it would be a shame if ice cream trucks were a thing of the past.
“There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you see a little kid smile when you hand them an ice cream cone,” he said.
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