An ICE-CREAM business owner, brought up in Nesscliffe and Kinnerley, has found a way to keep up income during the pandemic – good, old-fashioned honesty.

Anna Taylor set up Chilly Cow six years ago at the organic dairy farm her husband David runs with his parents in the Vale of Clywd, sand she left out a portable freezer and an honesty box and says results have been amazing with as many as 150 customers a day.

It has meant that a planned expansion of the business threatened by Covid-19 is now very much back on the agenda with a 20-foot container bought from Denbigh-based Container Sales Centre providing 1280 cubic feet of space for stylish new product packaging.

“The honesty box has been a real godsend because we had 33 summer events, from shows to weddings, in the diary and they’ve all been cancelled," she said.

“We just thought we’d give it a go and it’s been amazing how it has taken off with so many people on furlough and children off school so families have been out and about.

“A small tub is just £2 and people just find a nice spot nearby to enjoy them and carry on with their walk or cycle ride.

“We never close, we’re always open and although the events were cancelled we kept on supplying local shops, butchers and farm shops and their demand also rose because people wanted to support them and I think they also felt they deserved a bit of a treat at this difficult time.

“The public have also been amazing the way they have supported us and now we’re getting busy again with the wholesale side of the business as shops and restaurants reopen.”

The new container has also helped Chilly Cow gear up for growth, providing a new space for storage of their redesigned packaging instead of the cramped spare bedroom that also doubled-up as Anna’s office.

CSC sales consultant Lisa James said: “Containers are really versatile and ideal for so many different uses. It’s great to be able to help out."