OMEN
07-22-2008, 11:04 AM
Ice cream van jingles are to be curtailed by council bosses because they are too noisy.
Worcester City Council has decreed that chimes cannot exceed more than four seconds, barely enough for a verse of the Teddy Bears Picnic.
They have also been told they can't sound their chimes before 12pm or after 7pm and can only play music once every three minutes, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Councillors agreed to toughen up on mobile street traders after complaints about the way some operated, including banning them from parking outside schools.
But Tom Davison, from the Ice Cream Alliance, a trade association for the UK ice cream industry, said sellers were being forced out of business by council red tape and pedantic rulings.
Mr Davison, 54, said: "Whether you play your chimes for six or seven seconds, does it really cause harm to anyone?
"Four seconds is not long enough for somebody to locate where an ice cream van is coming from - and if you have a nice chime, you want people to hear it all the way through."
Nova
Worcester City Council has decreed that chimes cannot exceed more than four seconds, barely enough for a verse of the Teddy Bears Picnic.
They have also been told they can't sound their chimes before 12pm or after 7pm and can only play music once every three minutes, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Councillors agreed to toughen up on mobile street traders after complaints about the way some operated, including banning them from parking outside schools.
But Tom Davison, from the Ice Cream Alliance, a trade association for the UK ice cream industry, said sellers were being forced out of business by council red tape and pedantic rulings.
Mr Davison, 54, said: "Whether you play your chimes for six or seven seconds, does it really cause harm to anyone?
"Four seconds is not long enough for somebody to locate where an ice cream van is coming from - and if you have a nice chime, you want people to hear it all the way through."
Nova