Wigan ice cream man keeps licence after committee hearing

Rahiem Iqbal, who runs Martin’s Whippy, received huge public support after he announced on social media that he would have to put his case to carry on selling sweet treats to the hearing.

The Regulation Committee at Wigan Council has now agreed that he should be able to continue with his business.

He said: “Rahiem is a community ambassador. He has done such a lot of work for the community.

“It would have been a travesty had we taken his licence off him.

“When it became clear he was going in front of the panel I decided to speak about his character and the things he’s done in the ward.

“He has done all sorts of things for us, from helping with road safety campaigns to visiting Brownies and Guides groups.

“I can only praise the panel for taking all the circumstances into consideration.

“Rahiem now wants to get on with his job, his life and his work in the community. Hopefully he can do that.”

In a social media post Mr Iqbal thanked everyone who had supported him and written character references.

He said: “If it wasn’t for everyone who helped I may not have got the justice that I have received.”

Julie Middlehurst, service manager for regulatory services at Wigan Council, said: “We can confirm that the Regulation Committee determined that Mr Iqbal was a suitable individual to continue to hold a street trading consent.”

The candidates for Wigan Central ward in this year’s local elections are: Lawrence Hunt (Labour), Benjamin Thomas (Liberal Democrats) and Joe Worthington (Conservatives).

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