We went down to the
Strand in Gillingham to find out what people think about ice cream
vans

We all remember the jingle and rushing out to
get a 99...

But sadly it looks like ice-cream vans
are disappearing from our streets.

Gone are the days when the chimes were a
common sound. Now industry experts claim there are fewer than
5,000 left in the UK - that's down from 20,000 in the
1980s.

The Ice Cream Alliance is warning we could soon lose the
familiar strains of Greensleeves unless we let the van keep its
cornet of the market.

Competition from supermarkets, the use of home
freezers and the introduction of licence fees by some councils
are all being blamed.

George Dolezal, an ice cream man from
Medway, says times are tough: "Right now this year not a lot of
people have enough money for ice cream.

"But I think people would miss us if we
weren't here."