A social media sensation who revolutionised the ice cream game has spoken out after his van was attacked by a mob with 'hammers and crowbars' which injured his wife while the pair were trading in Oldham.
Mr Tee, also known as the 'King of Desserts', has gone viral for his impressive range of ice creams and sweet treats which he serves up from his iconic "dessert parlour on wheels".
The trade takes Mr Tee and his family-run business from their base in Wales across the country.
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As per legal requirements, he always seeks permission from local authorities before pulling up - and usually creates a frenzy on TikTok when the next hotspot location has been picked.
@mrteekingofdesserts #mrtees #icecream #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral #trend #trending #targeted ♬ Tatoo Techno Remix - 🅅🄰🄼🄿🄸🅁🄴 🄳🄸🅂🄲🄾
However, Mr Tee and his wife were left badly shaken after their van was attacked by a mob of more than 10 youths when in a car park in Oldham on May 17 at around 11.15pm.
While the pair were inside the van and were still serving a queue of customers, they said the gang descended on the van with hammers and crowbars, smashing every window including the headlights and brake lights.
Mr Tee explained: "All of a sudden, all the windows on the van started getting smashed in.
"I'm still inside the van - I've got an ice cream in my hand that I'm about to serve to a customer - and not only was I inside, but my wife was and she has never ever experienced anything of this kind of nature.
"We live in a quiet area. We've never faced any kind of violence in the eight years that we've been doing this.
"It was traumatic and shocking for her - and there's not a piece of glass that's not been broken.
"It was absolutely heartbreaking and it was intimidating to the customers.
"Afterwards, the guys just ran off.
"My wife tried to grab one of them through the window but he got free and she got scratched all over her arm and a big bruise.
"It was a very disgusting, despicable and deplorable act."
The disturbing footage shows a group of people, all dressed in black, hitting the van while onlookers made calls to the police.
A mob of more than a dozen people wielding hammers and crowbars descended on the van (Image: Mr Tee)
During the ordeal, the ice cream man was more worried about his partner and his queue of customers who 'froze' in shock.
He added: "I wouldn't wish that on anybody, but especially a female. I was more worried about the safety and concern of my wife.
"She's been in shock ever since. She didn't sleep properly for a whole week.
"We were just at the Halal Festival in Birmingham, raising money for Palestine, and there were loads of balloons.
"Every time one popped, my wife jumped."
He continued: "It is very sad that this happened in Oldham, a place where I least expected it to happen to be honest.
"I'd of thought maybe something like this from a big city but not in a lovely little town with such a nice community.
"The fact someone thinks that they can do this and follow their own form of law, it's sickening.
"We're not breaking any laws, we're not committing any crimes, we're selling desserts and we appeal to mostly children and families. We're here to bring joy.
"I love bringing happiness and that's one of the biggest drives to me in this."
Speaking about his business, he said many ice cream companies have benefitted from his attitude to the trade and model, which sees him serve up 65 variations and now operates a wing of more than 100 ice cream traders across the country.
The businessman said: "It was a dying trade until we uplifted it with the involvement of social media and recipes and different concoctions, and other businesses are grateful for that as it's helped them, too."
Despite more than a dozen police officers descending on the scene at the time, Mr Tee claimed he has not had any indication about the investigation into the attack.
He also fears the car park may lose the CCTV footage and has written a formal complaint to Greater Manchester Police.
Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for comment.
Mr Tee has also had to spend thousands of pounds to get the van repaired, which was promptly patched up by Whitby Morrison, an ice cream van manufacturer in Crewe.
He added: "They made the van and I'm sure when they saw it in that state that they felt that pain, too.
"But they were brilliant, they fixed it up in the same week."
@mrteekingofdesserts #mrtees #icecream #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #fyp #viral #trend #trending #targeted ♬ original sound - Mr tees ice cream
Though not entirely scratched off the list, for now Mr Tee said it is "unsafe" for his family to revisit Oldham anytime soon.
He said he doesn't want to be the "instigator of anything bad happening" if he were to come back, adding: "I don't want to be in a situation again where innocent people get injured or hurt."
The popular ice cream man, who has more than 240,000 followers on TikTok, also issued his heartfelt thanks to the people of Oldham for their "support and kindness".
He added: "We've had messages from residents, mothers, children and families who are just as gutted about this - I'd like to give them a lot of love and thank yous, and to the businesses, just to thank them dearly for their support.
"The support far outweighs the negativity."
If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.
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