Ice cream seller’s vans set on fire outside home in bitter turf war

Ice cream seller ‘Mr Cool’ is targeted in bitter turf war after arsonists torch two of his vans parked outside his home causing £70,000 worth of damage

  • Ice cream vans owned by Tony Del Busso, 50, set on fire early yesterday morning
  • The fire spread to their house, destroying a garage, bedroom and part of the roof
  • He is convinced competitors are behind arson attack in Hinkley, Leicestershire
  • Leicestershire Police has now launched an investigation into the arson attack

An ice-cream seller dubbed ‘Mr Cool’ believes competitors set fire to his vans as part of a bitter turf war – after an arson attack caused £70,000 worth of damage.

Tony Del Busso, 50, woke in the early hours on Thursday to find his Mr Cool and Super Whippy vans engulfed in flames on his driveway in Hinkley, Leicestershire.       

He fears competitors set fire to the vans as part of an ice-cream war which has raging in the local area for a matter of months.     

The fire spread to his house, destroying the garage, bedroom and part of the roof and causing around £70,000 worth of damage. 

Tony Del Busso (pictured), 50, believes competitors set fire to his Mr Cool and Super Whippy vans outside his home in Hinkley, Leicestershire early on Thursday morning

He fears competitors set fire to the vans (one of which is pictured) as part of an ice-cream war which has raging in the local area for a matter of months

Fire crews were called to the property just after midnight, as the inferno (pictured) spread to Mr Del Busso’s home

Police are now investigating the arson attack, which Mr Del Busso believes was carried out by rival ice-cream sellers

Mr Del Busso said: ‘The vans were parked around 50ft away from each other, so they have deliberately targeted them and I can only think it was to reduce the competition.

‘I think it could be a trade war. It’s destroyed the business. It’s on hold now and we are considering our future.

‘This time of year, we are heavily booked for events. We can’t do these until we get a replacement van.’     

Mr Del Busso and his wife Yvonne have been running the business for around eight years, with each driving one of the vans around Hinckley and the surrounding area.

Mr Del Busso’s father ran the ice-cream business before him, setting up in the late 1970s, but the family say its the first time they have been deliberately targeted.

An estimated £70,000 worth of damage was caused in the attack, which destroyed a garage, two vans and part of Mr Del Busso’s home

Mr Del Busso said he was aware of ice cream wars happening in some parts of the county, but never thought he’d be dragged into a bitter turf war (pictured, police at the scene)

He said: ‘Its a long running family run business and nothing like this has happened before.

‘We suspect because of the fact they targeted two ice-cream vans, it was something to do with competitors stopping us from trading.

‘There are numerous rivals, around three of four of them working on the same patch, but its never comes to aggression.

‘Nine times out of ten you just accept somebody else got there first. In busy periods it can get a bit heated but we rarely clash with each other.

‘There are occasions where you turn up on the same road at the same time and your pitches overlap. Whether somebody has taken exception to that, I don’t know.’

Mr Del Busso said he was aware of ice cream wars happening in some parts of the county, but never thought he’d be dragged into a bitter turf war.

He said: ‘I have heard about ice-cream wars happening but never locally. Its frightening to think we could be at the centre of one.

‘It also caused a considerable amount of damage to the house. It’s destroyed the garage and bedroom but it could have been much worse.’

Mr Del Busso (pictured) said he was aware of ice cream wars happening in some parts of the county, but never thought he’d be dragged into a bitter turf war

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were called to tackle the blaze just after midnight. It caused extensive damage to a bedroom at Mr Del Busso’s home

Leicestershire Police has launched an investigation into the fire and urged witnesses to get in touch.

A force spokesperson said: ‘We’re investigating after two vans were set on fire in Lismore Drive, Hinckley – and are asking for any witnesses to make contact.

‘We’d like to speak to anyone who has information about this incident. Do you have CCTV cameras installed at your property?

‘Were you passing through Lismore Drive either side of midnight? Do you have a dashcam installed in your vehicle?

‘We’d also like to speak to people who saw anyone acting in a manner that appeared suspicious or unusual in either Lismore Drive or the surrounding area.’

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were called to tackle the blaze just after midnight.

Crews used two sets of breathing apparatus, two hose reels and a thermal imaging camera while tackling the fire for over an hour.

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