Bolton ice cream man who chased children loses licence

The ice cream man claimed the children threw stones at his van

An ice cream man has lost his street trading licence after losing his cool and chasing a group of children down the street with a stick.

The man claimed the children had thrown stones at his van and he wanted to find out where they lived and tell their parents.

But a Bolton Council committee took a dim view of his actions and said it was concerned with public safety.

It ruled there was "reasonable cause" to refuse the street trading consent.

A report to the council's licensing sub-committee outlined full details of the incident, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Credible statements'

Minutes from the meeting said: "The committee also took account of the nature of the alleged incident and two witness statements from parents, which included that the applicant wanted the children to get into the ice cream van and subsequently chased the children while holding a black baton in his hand.

"The sub-committee found the witness statements to be credible."

The report also gave details of the ice cream man's version of events.

It said: "The applicant admitted in his signed written statement that he got out of the van to remonstrate with the children and also that he had a stick in his hand, which he had got from his vehicle.

"He said that he did chase them but only to find out where they lived so he could tell their parents what they had been doing in terms of allegedly throwing stones at his vehicle.

"In the meeting the applicant denied elements of his written statement by saying he did not chase them and did not have a weapon."

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