Mr Mac, or Jake, who spent the past 48 years delighting children and adults with his cheery personality and delicious ice cream, very sadly died on 13 June from natural causes.

Anyone who grew up in the Wimborne area will very likely have fond memories of buying ice cream from Mr Mac’s ice cream van. It comes as no surprise then that people from the town turned out in huge numbers to express their thanks and say their goodbyes.

People lined the streets as Mr Mac’s daughter, Jemma Lennie, drove his ice cream van with his signature tune ringing out through the town. She led a procession of the funeral cortege and ice cream vans driven by his friends and fellow ice cream sellers, all playing their tunes too. Spontaneous applause broke out as the procession went past. Free Mr Whippys were give out in The Square to celebrate his life.

All along the route, people were sharing their memories of Mr Mac.

Sharon Harvey, from Colehill, said: “We only knew Mr Mac because of the ice cream van, but he was such a lovely character and we got to know him over the years. There are three generations of our family here to say our goodbyes. It’s such a good turn out – it just goes to show what an amazing community we have and how much a part of that Mr Mac was.”