The Guardian reports that concerns over air pollution, traffic congestion, targeting of schools and illegal trading have led to a crackdown in parts of the capital.

A number of councils have reportedly banned ice-cream vans including:

Camden Council baned ice-cream vans from operating in 40 streets due to environmental concerns. This year it is putting up “no ice cream trading” signs and increasing enforcement officer patrols in these areas, with fines for drivers caught selling ice cream there.

Westminster city council is also trying to tackle the problem of idling vehicles, including ice cream vans.

The environmental concerns stem from drivers that need to keep their ice-cream van’s engines running while they are selling ice-cream so that their onboard freezers stay cold, and to power soft serve ice cream machines. Most of the vehicles use diesel engines, which emit harmful chemicals such as black carbon and nitrogen dioxide.