Ice Cream Wars Heat Up As Man Is Banned For Threatening Rival With Bat
An ice cream man has been banned from selling frozen treats in a seaside town - after chasing down a rival and threatening him with a baseball bat.
Barry Champion, 39, lost his cool after his wife Heidi saw Joshua Bowman selling ice-cream on their patch.
A row broke out and Mrs Champion told Mr Bowman: “We’ve got two vans now and you don’t like it. You’ll be seeing Barry soon.”
Mr Bowman told Mrs Champion to “shut up” - but she went home and told her husband and he jumped into her ice cream van and went to confront their rival.
He eventually spotted Mr Bowman’s van and tailed him before pulling in front of him, forcing him to stop.
Champion then leapt out brandishing a baseball bat, shouting and swearing at Mr Bowman who was cowering behind his window.
Champion has been banned from selling ice creams in Blackpool (picture credit: REX)
Mr Bowman locked himself into the back of his van as Champion shouted: “It’s a good job we’re in this street.”
The angry ice cream vendor then returned to his van and sped away from the scene in Blackpool, Lancs.
A court heard Mr Bowman had been left too frightened to continue with his ice cream business - and had handed it over to his mum.
Champion, of Blackpool, has now been banned from selling ice creams anywhere in the town after he admitted possessing an offensive weapon and a public order offence.
Judge Graham Knowles imposed a restraining order which bans him from “entering or being in the borough of Blackpool in an ice cream van” unless he is taking a direct route in or out from his home address.
He also handed Champion a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work, and banned him from contacting Joshua Bowman.
Preston Crown Court heard how Champion had been in the ice cream trade since the age of 14 when inherited the round from his father.
He told the court he was going through a difficult time in his family life and had “over-reacted” in March when he heard about his rival on his patch.
He told police the baseball bat was kept in his wife’s van for “protection”. Blackpool Council said Champion no longer worked in the resort.
The British ice cream industry is worth an estimated £1bn a year, meaning turf wars between ice cream sellers are hotting up.
Earlier this year, David Stephenson was fined for threatening behaviour and criminal damage when he discovered a Whitby ice-cream seller was passing off cheap Aldi alternatives as Stephenson’s luxury ”Trillo" brand.
In 2013 Zeheer Ramzan assaulted rival ‘Mr Whippy’ Mohammed Mulla, smashing the window of his van in Blackburn, Lancs.
According to the National Caterers’ Association, ice cream vans carry one of the highest profit margins in catering.
Its website warns: “Mobile trading can be very competitive and competition for the best rounds is very strong.
"It may be difficult to break in where there are several vendors already operating, and it has been known to create threatening behaviour.”
(Picture credit: Ross Parry Agency)
