Yahoo Finance Council appeals for public to report ice cream vans operating under coronavirus lockdown
Leeds City Council is appealing for people to report ice cream vans illegally roaming the streets during the coronavirus lockdown.
“We know this isn’t easy,” officials said. “But ice cream vans are not essential.”
The council said it is now illegal for ice cream vans to trade after the government introduced draconian measures to restrict the spread of coronavirus on Monday.
However, the authority has received numerous reports of ice cream vans operating across the city since Boris Johnson’s order for non-essential businesses to close.
On Thursday, it launched an appeal for members of the public to report these vans.
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The council said in a statement: “These are incredibly challenging times for us all and we need to work together as a city to make a difference and save lives.
“We know this isn’t easy, but ice cream vans are not essential and this unnecessary contact is putting more people at risk.
“Any vans operating now are also doing so without a licence which is against the law and could result in them receiving a fine.
“We all need to take the government guidance very seriously in order to get through this and we encourage any person who sees an ice cream van operating to report it as soon as possible.”
