BRITAIN'S longest serving ice-creamer from Galashiels has died at the age of 96.

Adam Kelly made national headlines when he finally hung up his ice-cream scoop two years ago after five decades of serving up cones and tubs from his van.

The D-Day veteran, who was awarded the British Empire Medal, died peacefully at Borders General Hospital this morning after a short illness.

A family statement read: "He was one of a kind and a true gentleman.

"In his 96 years he contributed to the community in countless ways and will be sorely missed."

Adam of Langlee Drive started his own ice-cream van business in 1966.

Adam's Ices served generations of sweet-toothed Galaleans over the years.

The local confectioner, who previously drove a milk tanker for a local creamery, revealed to the Border Telegraph during an interview in 2011 that he only began his ice-cream van rounds to provide holiday cover as a favour for a friend, the late Tony Macari - a local café owner who he served with in World War Two.

He said: "I wasn't very keen at first.

"Tony Macari had an ice-cream van and, in 1964, his son John asked me if I would cover for him the odd weekend to give him some time off.

"I would start at 5.30am in the morning doing my milk rounds, finish at dinner time, and then go out in the ice-cream van at night. I did that for a couple of years but John was always wanting a night off, and another night, and then in 1966 he gave up the van and I've been doing it ever since.

"It was a proper ice-cream van - a Bedford - but I've had two or three vans since. They have just been ordinary vans that I have done up.

"When I first started the price of cones were just three pence and six pence. And, last week, they all went up and it's 60 pence and £1.20 for a cone now."

Adam was born in Denholm on March 17, 1922.

He also stayed in Ettrickbridge before moving to Galashiels after his dad got a job on a local farm.

Adam, who attended the former Roxburgh School in Galashiels, told us during the 2011 interviews: "My first job was on a farm looking after chickens and I had a horse and float selling eggs round all the doors in Melrose and Galashiels.

"I worked every day of the week except for Sundays when I would have to look after the horse and take it out for a drink.

"I started work in 1937, having left the school aged 15 and continued until my father died in 1939. It was a tied house so we had to get out.

"Then one day I was going in to the creamery to get milk and the manager approached me to ask if I would like a job. They needed someone to drive their lorry and it was more money so I started with them. The boss took me round the farms collecting milk for about a week to learn the ropes and then I was on my own. There was no driving test in those days. I just had a provisional licence, which I kept for a year, and then I was given a full licence."

Adam's newly-acquired driving skills were put to the test when he was called up to serve his country in World War Two between 1941 and 1947.

He was involved in transporting ammunition, fuel and other vital supplies to the front-line, and took part in the largest invasion in military history - the D-Day beach landings in France in June 1944.

He became a member of the Normandy Veterans Association and was awarded a diploma from the French Embassy for his services to the country.

When he returned to civvy street, Adam resumed his role at the creamery, transporting milk from local farms to factories across the country, including the Carnation milk factory in Dumfries and a cheese factory in Lockerbie.

It was during this time that he met his wife, Elizabeth, better known as Betty.

She was on her way to visit her cousin at Ashiestiel when Adam met her on his rounds and offered her a lift from the bus stop in his milk tanker.