Cheltenham ice cream company arrested for illegal trading

A Cheltenham ice cream seller hoping to expand his empire has been arrested for unlicensed trading and poor behaviour outside schools.

Bambas Shaouna is seeking permission from the council to operate four additional vans in the county from noon to 7 p.m. every day.

Council leaders are due to make a decision this week but the contractor has already been caught letting them operate outside local schools such as Lakeside, St Gregory’s School and Rowenfield.

Originally from Cyprus, Mr Shaouna has lived in the city for most of his life and set up Mr Whippy Cheltenham in 1995.

Over the past three decades, he has grown his ice cream business, and in 2010 he brought on business partner William Capstick, who now runs most of the day-to-day operations.

They helped deliver groceries during the pandemic lockdown and raised money for good causes such as Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice.

Mr Shaouna had his five minutes of fame in 2018 when he appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, prompting judges to throw plates at him, balancing glasses on his head and playing the bouzouki.

However, some people are not so amused by his antics.

In six years, the council has registered eight complaints against the street vendor, according to a report from its law enforcement officer.

These include several vehicles seen trading without a permit, parking too close to Lakeside School, St Gregory’s School and Rowenfield School, obstructing a pavement, causing noise pollution and trading on private land without permission.

A complaint received on June 10 indicated that a van was seen parked across the street from Lakeside Elementary School, on a double yellow line. It arrived just before the end of school and remained there for 45 minutes, with its engine running intermittently and the chimes sounding from time to time.

A separate report shows Mr Capstick was summoned to the council offices in October 2023 and given a slap on the wrist for four complaints over a three-month period.

They were accused of parking too close to school premises, staying in one spot longer than expected, ringing the chimes for longer than expected and operating beyond 7pm.

Further complaints emerged this summer during the consultation period on the four new licences.

Environmental Protection said there had been two complaints which “demonstrate a lack of noise control” and a second environmental health officer had objected due to concerns about air quality.

The licensing enforcement team also said members of the public had caught three of the vans driving around, although none of them had been granted street vending licences. They said this raised concerns that if licences were granted, Mr Shaouna would not drive them in accordance with the rules.

Mr Capstick and Mr Shaouna said the incidents were due to “driver misconduct” and poor communication about the status of the permit applications. They added that all drivers had now been ordered not to use the four press vans until the applications were processed.

The council’s licensing subcommittee is due to consider the application at a meeting on Thursday (July 11), where Mr Shaouna will have the opportunity to present his case.