POLICE have been called in after furious customers were charged £7 apiece for a 99 Flake, calling it the “most expensive” in Britain.
Unhappy punters have contacted Scotland Yard after being outraged by a mobile trader in the heart of London.
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The ice cream van has now been taken off the streets, accused of being unlicensed and blocking cycle lanes.
Several people have complained about the cost of the ice creams offered by the vendor on Westminster Bridge, beside Parliament.
Among them was tourist Joanna Szymbor, who was told to hand over almost £30 for four of the cornets, the Star reported.
She described how there were no prices displayed but she went along with the purchase after a long, hot and tiring day sightseeing.
She said: “I feel ripped off – it was £28 for four ice creams.
“I paid thinking I heard it wrong – I’d already handed the ice cream to the kids so I didn’t want to be embarrassed.”
Another customer said: “The days where you’d get change from a pound for a 99 are long gone, but £7 has got to be the most expensive one ever.”
The Metropolitan Police and Lambeth council are have now swooped on the ice cream van.
It has been removed from the streets and impounded for operating without a licence and being parked dangerously on a cycle lane.
A council spokesperson said: “An unlicensed ice cream van trading on Westminster Bridge was seized by the council.
“Illegal traders take advantage of visitors, lack hygiene certificates and obstruct cyclists.”
And the Metropolitan Police tweeted about their intervention.
Scotland Yard’s roads and transport team posted that the van would “remain in the pound” until the end of a council-led court case.
They said they had been working with local councils Lambeth and Westminster “to explore legal options around ice cream vans obstructing the cycle lane”.
The £7 cornet is even pricier than what was previously thought to be the most expensive ice cream in the UK.
The Sun last summer found an ice cream van near Borough Market in south London – just a mile and a half along the Thames from Westminster Bridge – selling 99s for £5 apiece.
That contrasted with much cheaper prices elsewhere, such as £1.95 in Brighton in East Sussex and £2 in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
And a seaside store in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, this summer responded to the rising cost of living by cutting the price of its 99s to 99p – claiming them as the cheapest in Britain.
Ice cream vendor Stefano Arcari is thought to have invented the 99 in 1922 in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, coming up with the idea of breaking a Flake in half and sticking it into a cone.
The name came from an Italian tradition of the country’s king having 99 guards, leading to anything first-class being described as “99”.
Beach resort Seaton Carew in County Durham has recently been hailed as having more ice cream shops than anywhere else in the UK.
Holiday-makers travelling further afield have been warned on TikTok how to avoid being “scammed” when buying ice cream in Italy.
And a mum tested the best ice cream makers available in supermarkets for those who want to produce their own at home.
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