Things are turning frosty this Christmas in Darlington, where tensions are being whipped up between the town’s cyclists and its ice cream vendors, after one seller complained that “arseholes” were inconsiderately leaving their bikes next to his van – which he parked next to a set of cycle racks.

At the weekend, the owner of Gwenny’s Ice’s, based in the County Durham market town, took to Facebook to criticise a cyclist who parked their bike on one of the racks located in the pedestrian area of town centre, which he claimed was blocking the door to his van.

“Turns out, common sense isn’t actually that common,” Gwenny’s posted on the social media platform on Saturday.

“This is what’s wrong with the world today, No Respect, No Common Sense, a sense of Self Entitlement and Discourteous. Out of all the available Bike Racks, you choose that one right next to the entry/exit of the vehicle. I bet your [sic] an absolute joy to be around.”

He continued: “I hope whoever the owner of the bike is, stands on a plug over the Christmas Period. Arsehole. No wonder Jeremy Clarkson hates cyclists.”

However, the post, which has attracted over 200 comments, was heavily condemned by Darlington’s cycling community, with one writing: “Ice cream van parks on pedestrian area and also too close to bike rack and complains.”

That comment provoked Gwenny’s to reply: “Ice Cream Van parks on the still accessible and recognised A1 PUBLIC Highway which is open to traffic between restricted hours and parks in the allocated location which allows cyclists to be able to park freely and conveniently without hindrance after a 30-day consultation.”

“Imagine parking on a spot specifically for bikes then moaning when there are bikes,” added Callum, while Dave wrote: “Oh dear!! A cyclist using a cycle bay!! Get ‘em off the roads!!”

That reaction to his initial complaint then prompted Gwenny’s owner to post: “In relation to my previous post that’s caused quite the stir today… Merry Christmas, accept [sic] for those who don’t show integrity, common sense, and curtosy [sic].

He continued: “You’ve made my head fall off and driven me to the drink cause I can’t quite understand how the human brain works sometimes however given me some good entertainment on the train and I want to thank you for that.

“Don’t Stub your toe, or slip on ice on your bike over the winter period.”

And if that wasn’t enough, on Sunday another local cyclist parked their bike on one of the town centre’s cycle racks – again apparently blocking the ice cream van’s door. When the cyclist returned to their bike, however, they found it turned upside down, with Gwenny’s posting photographic evidence of this manoeuvre on Facebook.

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” Gwenny’s wrote, in their third consecutive post on cycle parking in Darlington.

“We’ve now got another member of the crew thinking they’re funny. Locking the bike up at 13:20 blocking us in on the van this time. He’s walked off and sat and watched us clueless…Then cried on when somehow his bike was magically put upside down.

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” he continued. “I’ll never understand why people go out there way to intentionally goade [sic] or antagonise when trying to be professional.

“Anyway, he’s not happy and now he’s cycling round the town with his camera out recording.”

In response to Gwenny’s philosophical conclusion that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”, Darlington resident Donna replied: “Same goes to you about his bike, he had every right to park his bike there, maybe when you pull your van up to stay for long periods, make sure you’re not blocking yourself in if someone chooses to use a bike rack.”

When approached by road.cc, the owner of Gwenny’s refused to comment or provide any further information (you could say he flaked out).

Instead, he asked us to submit a formal request for details and the use of his images “via a letter signed and dated” and delivered to the business’s address (which is why we have used embedded versions of his posts in this story).

“As you can imagine when running a business our availability is limited. Although the weather may be cold, our demand for our frozen products is still high,” the ice cream van owner told road.cc via email.

“Christmas is the season of love, giving, joy and togetherness and therefore here at Gwenny’s we wish you a Very Merry Christmas.”

> “Looks like a few pints were had”: New bike stands outside pub ruining “beautiful” village and blocking access for “less mobile residents”, locals claim – despite being installed on car parking space

Darlington Borough Council weren’t quite as elusive, however, confirming to road.cc that the Gwenny’s Ices van was parked in Darlington town centre over the weekend, and that the local authority is “aware of the disagreement”, which is currently being investigated by the council’s licensing team.

The council also told road.cc that Gwenny’s does have a licence to trade from a pitch in the town centre, but that there “remains a question of whether it’s been parked in quite the right place on this occasion”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time Gwenny’s has courted controversy over its parking.

Back in March, a ‘turf row’ broke out between the seller and another ice cream van company, Nevisons Super Whip, over their spots near the town’s South Park, sparking allegations of harassment, with Durham Constabulary forced to intervene to cool things down.

Talk about a Häagen-Dazs-aster. I’ll get my coat.