Hundreds of people queue for hours to buy Tango Ice Blast drinks during lockdown

Police were called to an industrial estate after hundreds of thirsty people queued for hours in the lockdown to buy ice drinks from a van.

According to witnesses more than 150 cars also snaked around Cibyn Industrial Estate in Caernarfon, North Wales, on Saturday, after a van selling Tango Ice Blast turned up.

People waited in a line on foot for around two hours with locals saying they had never seen the area so busy.

They said they were "annoyed the van came and encouraged people to risk their lives".

However the company that runs the van said they followed all the rules and that when officers tuned up they had 'no problem' with the measures they had taken to comply with regulations. This is yet to be confirmed by police.

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Another witness, who was walking in the area at the time, said he couldn't’ believe what he was seeing.

Speaking to North Wales Live, said: “I was going for a walk through Cibyn at about 6.30pm, and I saw a load of cars queuing and people walking in groups.

“As I turned the corner, I could see the queue went all the way down the road and back up again.

“There was a long queue of people on foot as well. There was social distancing towards the end of the queue, but the closer people were to the van, the closer they were together.

“I thought they must have been giving them out for free judging by the amount of people there, but I heard people were paying for them.

"I honestly couldn’t believe that people were doing this. It was really surreal. I can’t get my head around it.

“I’m annoyed more than anything that people would do it.

“It shouldn’t have been there. It’s encouraging non-essential travel.”

North Wales Events and Catering Services, who run the Tango Ice Blast van, said they acted within the rules and chose the estate because it is “out of town” and “less likely” to attract walkers.

The Welsh Government has advised people to stay home and only travel when absolutely necessary.

One person wrote on Facebook : “What a thing to do when we are in lockdown encouraging people to go out for non-essential reasons, appalling.”

Another called it "a disgrace” and said: “No wonder the numbers of covid in Gwynedd is not coming down."

It was also reported on social media that police were called to move the van on in Bangor on Friday, after traffic became “gridlocked” as a result of long queues.

However, one user on social media defended the Ice Blast van.

They wrote: “For all you slating them they are trying to do something nice in lockdown and the council approved for them to be there.

“Yes more social distancing measures should be put in place but maybe check first before you all put your two pence in and slate a business.”

However, another wrote: “What is wrong with people. We have the highest cases in North Wales and all these queuing for a slush, it’s totally wrong.”

North Wales Events and Catering Services said: “Many food outlets are reopening now with measures put in place to work in a safe manner not only for the employees but also for the customers.

“From experience if we work in the centre of a town this can create a number of walking customers. That's why we used the Cibyn Industrial Estate, out of the town centre and less likely to attract lots of walk-ins

“However those that do walk to the site are reminded of our 2m distance constantly by our staff who attempt to marshal the queues to the best of our ability and we have measures put in place to ensure there is a 2m gap.

“Yesterday whilst out we had a visit from North Wales Police who had no problem with the measures we had taken to ensure compliance with the regulations.

“We understand that people effectively can breach the regulation but as a business we do everything within our power to prevent this.

“Whilst Covid 19 is a pandemic and we attempt to keep everyone safe, we also are no different to the likes of KFC, Mcdonalds, or larger chains who are striving to re-start business but in a safe and effective manner.”

North Wales Police have been approached for comment.