Ice cream van man is threatened with court action over his 'too noisy' Blue Peter-style chimes

 John Barton, 33, has had complaints over the sound of the jingles on his van 

An ice cream van owner has been threatened with court action over his 'too noisy' Blue Peter-style chimes.

John Barton, 33, who runs Harrison's Ices, based in Lincolnshire, was left stunned when he received a council letter saying they had got complaints about his jingles.

East Lindsey District Council said there had been reports of 'undue noise' caused by the 'misuse/overuse of the chimes' from his bright pink and white van.

The letter warned him they had a duty to investigate the complaint and he could face possible prosecution at court under the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

The council wrote: 'It is alleged that when the weather is nice the van is in the area nearly every evening from between 6pm and 7pm.

'It has been alleged the chimes are overly loud and are used excessively between the above times.

'It is alleged the Blue Peter style chimes are sounded too often/frequently and potentially for too long.'

John Barton (pictured), 33, who runs Harrison's Ices, based in Lincolnshire, was left stunned when he received a council letter saying they had got complaints about his jingles

John Barton (pictured), 33, who runs Harrison's Ices, based in Lincolnshire, was left stunned when he received a council letter saying they had got complaints about his jingles

But Mr Barton has claimed he is not breaking any rules and that his vans stick to the required 45 decibel limit when playing their favourite chime in 12 second bursts.

The company has four vans that serve ice cream across the Louth, Grimsby and Cleethorpes areas of Lincolnshire.

The letter sent on April 25 stated the complaints centered around streets in Louth including Eastfield Road, Park Avenue and Chestnut Drive.

Mr Barton says he doesn't even go down some of those streets and he sounds his distinctive chimes in line with government guidelines.

Read More

What ever happened to the humble 99? After twins fume over the price of a Mr Whippy how ice cream parlours are charging close to £10 for soft serve  - so how much would YOU pay?

article image

The 33-year-old, who has been running the company for ten years, said: 'I have come across some weird things in my time and I have to say this is one of the weirdest.

'The letter basically told us someone had complained that we play our chimes too loud and are claiming we are breaking the law.

'They're not too loud, I can barely hear it in my van - it's 12 second of music and it's not in your ear. If I'm in my living room you can't hear the vans.

'It really depends on the chime, Just One Cornetto is loud and high pitched.. It's the Blue Peter chime we use, which isn't.

'In the middle of the summer season, you don't expect to get that sort of complaint.

'Someone has got too much time on their hands.'

The father-of-three has vowed to continue sounding his chimes around the streets of Louth despite the complaint.

He added: 'Initially I was annoyed but we're going to carry on going to Louth. We've been doing it for ten years.

'The street that made the complainant, we don't even go down that street. I know for a fact you can't hear mine two or three streets away.

'In 10 years I've never had a complaint about my products.

The company has four vans that serve ice cream across the Louth, Grimsby and Cleethorpes areas of Lincolnshire

The company has four vans that serve ice cream across the Louth, Grimsby and Cleethorpes areas of Lincolnshire

'The issue I've got, is the government don't work in ice cream vans. The rules are killing people of.

'They're putting an end to the industry. They don't have a restriction on how much tax and VAT I pay. Who genuinely makes these decisions?'

Mr Barton also took to Facebook to share his frustration and wrote: 'What has the world come too when you have people complaining about an ice cream van noise.. at 6pm. In the afternoon.

'These people won't ever come out to the ice cream van, they will hate seeing children happy, hate the sound of something joyfully and happy.

'If this is you - GET A LIFE! Get ya self out and buy an ice cream - it might make you feel a bit happier about life.'

A spokesperson for East Lindsey District Council said: 'The council does not have a choice in whether or not to investigate.

'This is part of our statutory duty to investigate potential statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which state we must investigate all complaints we receive.

'Every year we receive and investigate in excess of 800 noise complaints about a variety of issues ranging from dog barking to industrial noise.'

OTHER NEWS

18 minutes ago

The biggest question about Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs was just answered

18 minutes ago

Julia Quinn Breaks Silence on Bridgerton's Gender-Swap Twist After Backlash

18 minutes ago

Everything leaving Netflix in July 2024

18 minutes ago

‘Terrible’: Paul Murray reveals the ‘big fear’ about vaping

19 minutes ago

Live updates: Julian Assange arrives for plea deal hearing in Saipan

19 minutes ago

Cargo ship draws Suez Canal blockage comparisons after becoming stuck in Cambridge river

19 minutes ago

England player ratings vs Slovenia: Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer make impact after Conor Gallagher nightmare

19 minutes ago

Concrete interest: Palace could use Olise fee to land dream Eze partner

19 minutes ago

Smiling robot face is made from living human skin cells

19 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters face off at new Montreal encampment

19 minutes ago

‘How do you justify that?’: Incoming Governor-General’s $200k pay rise amid cost of living crisis

19 minutes ago

Justice Department urges Supreme Court to decide if felons can be barred from having a gun

19 minutes ago

King Hosts Japanese Royals at Glittering State Banquet

19 minutes ago

Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers: who owns the team?

19 minutes ago

Eva Longoria, 49, reveals she's proud of her 'very cultured' six-year-old son Santiago who 'understands and appreciates other cultures'

19 minutes ago

Manchester United 'close to £27m Erik ten Hag deal' as Manuel Ugarte bid tabled

19 minutes ago

The new £110,500 BMW M5 is a 717bhp plug-in hybrid that weighs as much as a Bentley

19 minutes ago

NHS weight loss services unable to keep up with spiralling demand

19 minutes ago

IRS apologizes to Ken Griffin and thousands of Americans for tax data leak

19 minutes ago

LARRY KUDLOW: Why is President Biden so 'intent on disrespecting' the Supreme Court?

19 minutes ago

2024 Chicago Pride Parade: New timing, route, closures and more

19 minutes ago

Cramer's Lightning Round: Hartford Financial Services Group ‘can go even higher'

19 minutes ago

How will Ald. Ed Burke pay his $2 million fine after his sentencing?

19 minutes ago

Dallas Mayor will host 28th annual Back to School Fair in August, register now

19 minutes ago

Houston public official accused of misusing millions in public funds

19 minutes ago

Reports: Jim Schlossnagle to leave Texas A&M for head coach job at Texas

19 minutes ago

VERIFY: Yes, In Texas, pedestrians have to yield to vehicles in some cases

22 minutes ago

England in line for more criticism after bore draw confirms their passage to the final 16 of the Euros

22 minutes ago

Data centers, EVs to significantly boost US power load by 2030, consultancy says

25 minutes ago

Woman gets help from NBC 5 Responds after fraudsters hacked her Facebook account selling fake Taylor Swift concert tickets

25 minutes ago

DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network

25 minutes ago

Source: Jim Schlossnagle leaving Texas A&M for Texas baseball job

27 minutes ago

After a June filled with rain, mosquitoes are on the horizon for Regina

27 minutes ago

Inaugural downtown Calgary office-to-residential project called an instant success

28 minutes ago

Can't stop the (classical) music

30 minutes ago

Dallas City Council may consider weed legalization amendment for voter approval

30 minutes ago

Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500 ends 3-day decline: Live updates

30 minutes ago

Aussies feel social media fails to stop 'scam war'

30 minutes ago

Clarence Thomas just confirmed the dangers of his favorite judicial philosophy

30 minutes ago

Poilievre to attend AFN annual general assembly for first time as Conservative leader