ICE cream makers have been ringing up record sales as people consume vast amounts of their products to keep cool in the heatwave summer.

But for Exmoor-based farmhouse producer David Baker, the wall-to-wall sunshine is proving a double bonus – because he’s just rolled out the UK’s first-ever solar-powered ice cream van.

His prototype vehicle has taken to the road after more than a year’s design and construction and it’s already trading at outdoor events, running silently with none of the usual incessant drone of a diesel engine - or its fumes.

Now David, owner of award-winning Styles Farmhouse Ice Cream, based in Rodhuish, is in the process of patenting the design and is planning a £1 million investment to replace his entire fleet of 11 vans with clean-energy versions.

The new van’s roof-mounted solar panels charge a bank of batteries to keep the freezers, fridges and internal lighting running, with the system only switching automatically to a back-up LPG generator as a last resort.

“If the sun is shining all day then we can operate on 100 per cent solar power and only if it turns cloudy do we need about half an hour’s help from the generator,” said David.

“But with the extra batteries we are installing we should be able to cut its use almost to zero.”

Sheep farmer David and his wife Sue set up the Styles Farmhouse business 30 years ago when they launched a range of ewe’s milk ice cream.