Britain's oldest ice cream man has died after more than 50 years of service

Tributes have flooded in for D-Day veteran Adam Kelly who is said to have died peacefully on Tuesday after a short illness at the age of 96.

Mr Kelly, who was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017, ran Adam's Ices in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, for more than half a century.

But he was forced to retire in 2016 after DVLA chiefs refused to renew his driving licence when he failed an eye test.

Mr Kelly was thought to be the oldest ice-cream van driver in the UK after Giovanni Rozzo died last year, weeks before his 105th birthday.

He is said to have died peacefully at Borders General Hospital after a short illness.

A family statement was posted on the Adam's Ice Appreciation Society Facebook on Wednesday.

It said: "On behalf of his family it is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news that Adam Kelly BEM passed away peacefully in Borders General Hospital yesterday after a short illness.

"He was one of a kind and a true gentleman. In his 96 years, he contributed to the community in countless ways and will be sorely missed."

Mr Kelly started his own ice cream van business in 1966 and served generations of sweet-toothed residents in Galashiels over the years.

The local confectioner previously drove a milk tanker for a local creamery.

And he revealed in 2011 interview that he only began his ice-cream van rounds to provide holiday cover as a favour for a friend who he served with in WWII.

Mr Kelly previously said: "I wasn't very keen at first.

"Tony Macari had an ice-cream van and, in 1964, his son John asked me if I would cover for him the odd weekend to give him some time off.

"I would start at 5.30am in the morning doing my milk rounds, finish at dinner time, and then go out in the ice-cream van at night.

"I did that for a couple of years but John was always wanting a night off, and another night, and then in 1966 he gave up the van and I've been doing it ever since.

"It was a proper ice-cream van - a Bedford - but I've had two or three vans since. They have just been ordinary vans that I have done up.

"When I first started the price of cones were just three pence and six pence. And, last week, they all went up and it's 60 pence and £1.20 for a cone now."

Mr Kelly was born in Denholm on March 17, 1922, and stayed in Ettrickbridge, Scottish Borders, before moving to Galashiels after his dad got a job on a local farm.

He was called up to serve his country in WW2  between 1941 and 1947 and was involved in transporting ammunition, fuel and other vital supplies to the frontline.

He took part in the largest invasion in military history - the D-Day beach landings in France in June 1944.

He also became a member of the Normandy Veterans Association and was awarded a diploma from the French Embassy for his services to the country.