Britain’s most expensive 99 ice cream is being sold for a FIVER

THE Sun found the country’s most expensive 99 ice cream yesterday — selling for a fiver.

The costly cone comes amid a shortage of Cadbury Flakes.

A surge in demand hit stocks of the crumbly chocolate sticks.

In Brighton 99s are as cheap as £1.95 and in Leeds they are £2.

But near Borough Market in South London they were going for a whopping £5 each from a Mr Whippy ice cream van.

The seller told The Sun the cost of fuel, ingredients and energy bills had forced the price up.

She said: “It’s getting more and more expensive to do this job and to be able to make any money.

“It costs a fortune to run the generator for the Mr Whippy, and having a spot in central London really isn’t cheap.”

Despite the princely sum, one happy customer reckoned: “It might sound like a lot but nothing beats a Mr Whippy.

“It just reminds me of being a kid and getting ice cream when I was younger.

“It’s the best.”

The 99 was reportedly invented in 1922 by Edinburgh ice cream vendor Stefano Arcari, who would break a Flake in half and stick it into the top of a cone.

The name came from the old custom of Italy’s king having 99 guards, so Italians referred to anything special or first-class as “99”.