Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Mr Whippy vs Mr Creamy: Rival ice cream sellers' long-running turf war sparks police investigation

The former colleagues have argued in front of children and accused each another of harassment and breaking council rules

Chiara Giordano
Friday 05 July 2019 17:00 EDT
Comments
Mr Whippy, Mohammed Mulla, and his former employee Mr Creamy, Jahangir Rashid, have been locked in a turf war in Blackburn, Lancashire, since 2015.
Mr Whippy, Mohammed Mulla, and his former employee Mr Creamy, Jahangir Rashid, have been locked in a turf war in Blackburn, Lancashire, since 2015. (YouTube/aston aston)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A pair of rival ice cream sellers called Mr Whippy and Mr Creamy are being investigated by police after the latest heated exchange in their long-running turf war.

The traders were caught on camera locked in a dispute after one claimed he was overtaken and then blocked off by the other.

Mr Whippy, Mohammed Mulla, and his former employee Mr Creamy, Jahangir Rashid, first fell out in 2015 following a dispute over takings and wages.

Mr Rashid ended up parting ways with Mr Whippy and bought his own Mr Creamy ice cream van, which he used to trade in and around Blackburn, Lancashire.

Since then, the two men have accused one another of harassment and breaking council rules over parking their vans at least 150 metres apart.

The pair have also been accused of having heated arguments in front of parents and children and following each other around their rival pitches and streets in the town.

But the spat came to a head last month during separate nasty confrontations outside two mosques only a few days apart.

Footage has emerged online of the second clash on 21 June which shows the pair in a fiery confrontation.

Mr Mulla, 48, claims the argument was sparked when he was blocked off by his rival.

He said: “On 21 June Mr Rashid followed me, overtook me and blocked me with his ice cream van.

“He has done this before and has harassed me repeatedly.

“This is a serious issue and could lead to collisions and put children at risk.

“I have reported this to the council and police. Mr Rashid is talking nonsense.”

However Mr Rashid, 56, hit back, saying he followed Mr Mulla to “try and resolve the matter”.

He added: “I have not been harassing Mr Mulla. He has been harassing me.

“I do not follow Mr Whippy around but he has followed me on several occasions.

“I have never tried to obstruct his van. This is a small and petty matter that has got out of hand.”

The clashes echo a previous dispute over ice cream van sales in June 2012 also involving Mr Mulla and Halifax-based Mr Yummy Zeheer Ramzan.

Police and Blackburn with Darwen Council are now investigating the two incidents.

A police spokesman said: “We have received a complaint of nuisance.”

A council spokesman said: “We are aware two ice cream sellers are involved in a dispute. We are taking steps to resolve it.”

SWNS contributed to this report.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in