ICE cream vans in Rossendale will only be allowed to sound their chimes for a maximum of four seconds after a council decision.

Rossendale Council has signed up to the ice cream van code of practice which imposes strict rules on mobile ice cream traders in the borough.

Bosses at the authority said they were following in the footsteps of councils across the country, but some councillors questioned the practicality of the new rules.

Coun Alan Neal said: “How on earth will they implement these restrictions?

"Are councillors going to run down the road chasing ice cream vans who sound their chimes for longer than four seconds?

“This is not the biggest problem in Rossendale by far.

“The council needs to look at other issues to do with food traders because these rules will not work.”

The new restrictions also state no chime should sound more than once every three minutes or when the vehicle is within 50 metres of hospitals, places of worship or schools in school hours.

Streets in Rossendale which are classed as “quiet areas” will also be protected from the sound of the ice cream vans.

Though the problem has not been highlighted as a priority for the council, members of the authority said they believed prevention would be better than a cure.

Licensing manager Tracy Brzozowski said: “The code of practice on noise from ice cream van chimes sets out common sense measures to stop ice cream vans becoming a serious nuisance in residential area.

“Many other authorities have already adopted this code and we believe that it will help to ensure that the council has adequate powers to deal with any issues that may arise in the future.”

Members of the council voted in favour of the code of conduct to “regulate street trading and minimise public nuisance to ensure trading is carried out in a fair manner”.

The government-approved code of practice also states that it is an offence to sound any chimes before noon or after 7pm or in a way which gives reasonable cause for annoyance.