One of the best things about the hot summer weather is being able to tuck into a delicious ice cream while the sun's out.
Ice cream vans and cafes selling the cold treat are a staple sight along the UK coast and seaside towns, and on a sunny day, the seafront is often full of people trying to frantically eat their sweet snack before it melts all over their hands.
But after the UK was hit by a heatwave in late May, people took to social media to rant about the price of these ice creams, as they seem to have skyrocketed in recent years. The most popular type of ice cream, known as a 99, has shot up to as much as £6 in some areas for a swirl of vanilla ice cream in a cone with a flake.
If you're desperate for an ice cream but don't want to pay exorbitant prices for the pleasure, there is one spot in the UK that has vowed to keep selling 99s for just 99p - and it's good news if you happen to live in Essex.
Adventure Island, a free admission theme park in Southend-on-Sea, has declared they are currently serving "proper seaside 99s" at their ice cream parlour, The Ice Cream Club, for just 99p.
In a video on Instagram, they said: "We've made our ice creams, our 99s, for 99p. We're outside The Ice Cream Club on Southend seafront. It's right across from the beach, just next to the Sealife Adventure. It's a great spot, and the sun is shining."
The video included clips of several happy customers, who said the ice cream was creamy and delicious, with one man even claiming it's the best ice cream he's "ever had" - and he paid less than £1 for the portion.
If you're a regular visitor to Southend seafront and you have an annual pass for Adventure Island or Sealife Adventure, then you can bag yourself an even better deal, as pass holders get their 99s for just 79p.
Commenters on the post were blown away by the low price of the ice cream, with many saying they would be racing down to Southend to get their hands on the bargain treat as soon as possible.
One person said: "I haven't been to Southend in years. I think it's time to give it a go!" Another added: "Best idea ever."
A third lamented: "Amazing price, I paid £4 the other day!"
There's a common misconception that the traditional 99 - which is made up of soft ice cream in a cone with a Cadbury's Flake - got its name because it once cost just 99p. That actually isn't true, but what does the strange name actually mean?
The truth is, no one really knows. There are many theories around the mysterious name, but nothing has ever been confirmed. We know that it was never to do with the price because the 99 has existed under that name since around 1930. That was pre-decimalisation, so nothing would have cost 99p.
The name can be traced back to at least 1935, when Cadbury released a shorter version of its Flake bar that was specifically designed for the ice cream trade. This bar was called a Flake 99, but it's unclear why they chose to name it that.
Even the Oxford English Dictionary can't answer where the ice cream got its name, as it states: "The reason for the name is unknown ... the application to the chocolate may not precede its application to the ice cream. The suggestion that something really special or first class was known as '99' in allusion to an elite guard of 99 soldiers in the service of the King of Italy appears to be without foundation."
However the ice cream came to be named, we know one thing for certain - they're delicious!
