When he first started his rounds the Beatles were at number one and Top of the Pops had just launched.

Adam Kelly has seen a lot come and go from the little window of his ice cream van but at the age of 94 he is finally hanging up his scoop.

A beloved sight in his home town of Galashiels, the “man in the reed van” – who hasn’t taken a sick day in 52 years – has been forced to quit after he failed his eye test.

“I went for the routine eye test but couldn’t read the numbers. I’ve just got to accept I won’t be driving any more,” says a devastated Adam.

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“I have been doing the ice cream van for 50 years so I will miss it.”

Adam left school aged 15 in the late 1930s and began work on his father’s farm driving around in a horse and cart.

Adam’s first job was delivering milk and cream on his father’s horse and cart when he was 15. HEMEDIA / SWNS Group

Two years later his father died and the young lad took a job at a nearby creamery instead, delivering milk to nearby farms in a much larger tanker.

In 1941, aged 19, Adam enlisted in the army and was sent off to Africa to transport vital ammunition and fuel.

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His military career continued in El Alamein, Libya, Tripoli, Tunisia and Italy until he was eventually dispatched to Normandy as part of the D-Day landings in 1944.

The brave teenager was one of only a few soldiers in the 51st Highland Division of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), charged with sneaking over the front line in the dead of night to bury ammunition in the ground ahead of the next day’s planned attack.

In 1941 he was called up to the army, left, and dispatched to Normandy as part of the D-Day landings in 1944. HEMEDIA / SWNS Group

After the war ended, Adam returned to what he knew, working as a delivery man in the creamery transporting Carnation milk and cheese.

Until one day he saw a pretty girl stranded at a bus stop.

Halting his round to offer her a lift, a charming young Adam met and fell in love with Elizabeth.

Five years later they were married, buying their first house for just £60.

They will be married 65 years in October.

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In the mid-1960s Adam switched to the world of ice creams, taking on evening shifts driving an ice-cream van of his army friend and cafe owner Tony Macari.

“When I first started the price of cones were just three pence and six pence,” says Adam.

Mr Kelly serves a customer from his ambulance-turned-ice-cream-van in the 1980s. HEMEDIA / SWNS Group

While his round never took him out of his home town, “Adam’s Ices” became a local institution as generations of children ran out for a nougat wafer or penny sweetie at the sound of his chimes.

A special Facebook fan page was later setup in his honour, aptly named Adam’s Ices Appreciation Society who describe him as “the hardest working pensioner in Galashiels”.

Even after having been been shot at, robbed, and mugged during his rounds, the plucky pensioner has never had a sick day.

His busiest time of year, he says, used to be Christmas and New Year when he would sell “100 dozen bottles of lemonade” per night.

Among his most famous customers was a young MP, David Steel, now Lord Steel, who stopped for an ice-cream while out campaigning for re-election in the Borders, and the parents of former Scottish international footballer John Collins who grew up in Galashiels.

In the mid-1960s Adam switched to the world of ice creams. HEMEDIA / SWNS Group

Adam, described by his customers as “a true legend” celebrates his birthdays with a vanilla cone (he doesn’t touch any other flavours) and insists that up until last week, he never saw an end in sight for his career in ice cream.

Just three years ago, at the age of 91, the determined pensioner had already bought a new van which remains parked in his garage full of ice-cream, sweets and juice, ready to go.

His fans though, have been doing their utmost to cheer up their favourite ice cream man.

On his fan page, Nancy Sutherland wrote: “Adam your a legend. x”

And Aimee Jones posted: “He always gave me a 10p mix, great memories. Best wishes Adam x”

Adam was still out on his rounds on his 90th birthday. HEMEDIA / SWNS Group

“I will miss seeing them all,” says Adam.

“I’ll have to find something to fill my time, although I’ve got the greenhouse and garden.”

While Adam might have once held the title as Britain’s oldest ice cream van man, a 103-year-old grandfather is determined to continue with his dairy plans.

Giovanni Rozzo officially “retired” in 1995 after spending 27 years selling ice creams in the centre of Cambridge. He was handed the keys to a vintage Bedford HA ‘Batmobile-style’ van a few weeks ago after relatives decided to treat him.

The father of three, who is also the UK’s oldest driver, said: “The van is exactly like the one I had in 1966, and I’m delighted to have it. It is very exciting to get behind the wheel again.”