N-ice! Place in finals for Stafford ice cream seller
The owner of an ice cream van business in Stafford left devastated when a huge factory fire broke out nearby has been named a finalist in a national competition.
Tony's Ices was forced out of its unit after the fire at Global Hygiene opposite sent balls of flames hundreds of feet into the air at Astonfields Industrial Estate in March 2016.
The business – which has now moved to Hill Crest – was hit with costs of more than £10,000 when smoke destroyed stock including ice cream cones, flakes, sweets and plastic tubs. Now, just under a year since the blaze erupted, Tony Ice's is celebrating after finishing in the final three of the Ice Cream Alliance's Mobiler of the Year 2017 at the annual competition in Harrogate.
Owner Karl Simcock is delighted with the outcome – in the year that the business celebrates its 25th anniversary.
The 42-year-old said: "If you'd have said to me at the beginning of March last year that we'd have been in this position now I'd have had a little giggle.
"We've had a tough year and to get to the final three is unbelievable. To say we were finalists is amazing and hopefully it will open doors in getting into different events in the future.
"The fire caused us a lot of damage and we've had to make cutbacks but we've kept on running. We've moved on from the Astonfields site since and its been really good."
The firm finished as a finalist after missing out on the top spot. It was up against other ice cream van fleets in Bournemouth and Leicestershire.
Tony's Ices was among several firms hit by the fire which engulfed the industrial estate when 40,000 litres of oil ignited.
