Two rival ice-cream van traders' long-running dispute over turf in Blackburn, Lancashire, has come to a head after Mr Whippy (Mohammed Mulla) and Mr Creamy (Jahangir Rashid) were caught on camera having a heated exchange, with each accusing the other of harassment.

Police are investigating a nuisance complaint after the dispute escalated during separate confrontations in June of this year.

It first began when Mr Rashid parted company with Mr Whippy after an argument over wages, and set up in business with his own ice-cream van, trading in and around Blackburn.

In the latest confrontations involving Mr Mulla, the first took place on 17 June outside Blackburn's Troy Street Mosque.

It was repeated on 21 June at the nearby Cedar Street Mosque after which Mr Creamy followed Mr Whippy down St James's Road to Earl Street.

Mr Mulla (48) claims that the argument was sparked when he was overtaken and then blocked off by his rival, something that he says has happened before on several occasions.

Mr Rashid (56) hit back and said:

I have not been harassing Mr Mulla. He has been harassing me. I did follow him on 21 June but that was to try and resolve the matter. I don't follow Mr Whippy around but he has followed me on several occasions.

It is not for the writer of this article to take sides, but readers should note that Mr Mulla apparently has previous form, with a similar dispute over ice-cream sales in 2012 between him and a Halifax-based vendor, Mr Yummy (Zeheer Ramzan).