All summer, brothers Declan and Conrad Waggett have listened tantalised by the music of the ice cream van as it has toured their village near Skipton.

And then looked longingly as it has whipped past the end of their road in Cross Hills.

Not once has it turned into Walker Close - and they've never been able to flag it down.

But Declan, 11 and Conrad, nine, are determined not to be licked.

Using red yellow and green paints, brushes, two sticks and a sheet of paper, they have produced a banner declaring: Wanted, Ice Cream Van.

And whenever they hear the familiar strains they plan to dash to the end of the road in a bid to shame the driver into stopping.

"We don't like to ask him to stop - so we hope he'll see our banner. My mum buys us ice creams from the shop and keeps them in the freezer, but we'd love to have one from the van," said Declan, whose favourite is a 99.

Their mum Annette, 37, a teaching assistant at Glusburn Primary School, where her sons are pupils, said: "The boys hear the music as it goes round the village, but the van never turns into Walker Close.

"It would be worth it because there are about 18 children living along the road, but it just goes straight past, on its way to Cowling. I think the boys have got frustrated with the situation over the summer and decided to do something about it."

A spokesman for Rossi's Ices, Bradford, said: "I don't know which company works this area, but speaking generally the vans have a patch that they use and a set route where people know they will stop.

"If there are children on that patchwho are not at the stop, it is up to the driver if they want to stop at a safe place.