Caravan Insurance

The recent bout of hot weather has been a boon to the ice cream-selling trade, with the outcome that sales of ice cream vans are reaching unprecedented levels.

With temperatures passing the 30°C mark in many parts of the UK, many people are opting for a career move into the ice cream-selling industry, with many van-making firms have seen their sales increase rapidly as a result.

Ed Whitby of Crewe-based ice cream van manufacturing giant WhitbyMorrison told Life Style Extra that the reason for the rising number of people entering the industry is the unique appeal of driving an ice cream van as opposed to simply doing a normal desk job.

He commented: "A new van might cost around £40,000 but once you have made that investment it does not cost much more to run.

"The business is highly competitive, but if you put the work in you can make it back."

Mr Whitby said that his firm is seeing increasing demand for vans every year, with many purchasers asking for their model to be tailored for other uses as well, making them profitable all year round.

William McElligott of manufacturer GRP Mouldings concurred, saying that his firm has had to take on more staff to cope with the recent boom, which he claims is partially driven by an increasing number of people of Italian backgrounds entering the industry.