STAFF at the ice cream producer, Just Rachel, are pinching themselves for having the good fortune to open an ice cream parlour in Ledbury during the hottest summer since 1976.

Just Rachel, the award winning artisanal ice cream producer based just outside town, opened their new ice cream parlour at the Top Cross in Ledbury in May, since when trade has been booming: helped in no small part by record breaking summer weather.

The parlour is open seven days a week throughout the year, including into the evenings during the summer holidays, and manager Jenny Williams says business has been predictably "brisk" since they opened.

She added: "Our only problem has been keeping up with demand, especially as Herefordshire’s cows are struggling to produce enough cream with the lack of grass due to the dry weather.

"Still, nobody at Just Rachel is complaining!"

The parlour is located in the famous 'House on Stilts' at Top Cross, a Grade II* listed building which dates back to at least the early part of the seventeenth century.

The building had been empty for the previous eighteen months but has now been fully restored whilst bringing the inside into the 21st century "with vivid colours and a modern twist".

Just Rachel have been making ice cream at their dairy in Bromsberrow to a traditional English recipe for over 30 years, using local Herefordshire cream and real fruits from the three counties "with absolutely no additives".

Their Damson and Sloe Gin Ice Cream has won a coveted 3 star “Great Taste” award.