A drunk New Zealander hijacked a Mr Whippy van at knifepoint then hurled ice creams at passers-by during a vanilla and alcohol-fuelled rampage, reports said.

Joseph David Banks, 21, admitted running amok in the North Island town of Hastings last week, but was so drunk he could not remember the incident, the Hawke's Bay Today newspaper reported.

Court documents showed that on the evening of December 7, Banks armed himself with a butcher's knife and threatened the life of a woman holding her young child on the street, before crawling into a nearby Mr Whippy truck.

The unemployed man then used the van's facilities to make soft serve ice creams and throw them at people on the footpath.

When police confronted Banks, the ice cream van bandit refused to cool down and resisted arrest until back-up arrived.

Banks pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a series of charges, including threatening to kill, resisting police, disorderly behaviour and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was remanded in custody for sentencing on Friday.

- AFP