WHEN you get stuck into something cold and creamy this summer on the streets of Abergavenny, chances are it’ll be the best in Wales, but only if you buy it from C.J. Copner who was recently voted one of the top four best ice cream men in the UK at an awards ceremony held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

As you might have recently seen featured on the ITV Wales news, Chris Copner and his fleet of ice cream vans are not just the talk of the town, they’re the talk of ice cream aficionados everywhere.

Chris, who started the business up as a part time hobby in 2009 with his first ice cream van being a restored 1976 transit, explained, “I got into the final four for best ice cream man in the UK and Ireland. We didn’t get all the way this year but we were the only Welsh ice cream company to get so far.

“Our Facebook page had over 7000 hits in the three days following the news story going out which is massive for our small local business, Most people in the area have now seen the clip on facebook and sales and interest has shot up as a result.”

The latest addition to the C.J. Copner fleet is a van which features a hand painted mural of Abergavenny on the rear and has travelled all over Wales.

You may have seen some of Chris’s vehicles which are often used for weddings, TV work, corporate events and street work making an appearance in Stella (sky one), Campus (channel 4), Being Human (BBC ), and Dirk Gently (BBC) to name a few.

The local firm also makes regular national magazine appearances in Great British food, and photo shoots for the likes of Ford Motor group.

Chris told the Chronicle, “I would like to say a big thank you to all our local customers and community for their continued support. As a result of the publicity a graphic designer travelled all the way down from London last to base a book on my collection and story which will showcase some of Abergavenny in a summer exhibition in London.

“And I’m pleased to say the town will be getting extra tourists this year as a result of all that publicity.”