IT could cool you down on a hot summer's day on the beach, but probably set you thinking about tinsel, presents, turkey and snow.For a seaside shop has come up with an unusual yuletide treat for the festive season – Christmas pudding flavoured ice cream.

IT could cool you down on a hot summer's day on the beach, but probably set you thinking about tinsel, presents, turkey and snow.

For a seaside shop has come up with an unusual yuletide treat for the festive season - Christmas pudding flavoured ice cream.

It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but its producers hope the flavour will bring them a winter trade boost and give visitors to Felixstowe something a little different to enjoy.

"We have done a few new flavours for the Christmas season, but Christmas pudding is probably the most unusual one we have done yet," said Jessie Fotherby, who runs the Little Ice Cream Company with her husband Graham and their business partner Lisa Wright.

"We have had a variety of reactions to it so far, but we do a lot of flavours you would not normally expect as ice cream and people do like to try them out.

"With the Christmas pudding one we have a base mixture for the ice cream and then we mix in some of the ingredients of a traditional Christmas pudding, with some crumbly pudding pieces on the top - it's a lot of fun trying different ideas and seeing the reactions of customers. "

Cranberry sauce is normally associated with turkey and another flavour for the Christmas season at the shop is cranberry and orange, and there is also champagne sorbet.

The shop, which opened in Undercliff Road West earlier this year, is currently celebrating having just won three national awards for its ice creams.

It was one of more than 500 entrants in the competitions run by the Ice Cream Alliance and judged by a panel of experts at its recent national conference at Harrogate.

The shop won diplomas for its base mix, and its mint and strawberry flavours. It uses milk from the cows at Adams Farms at Old Felixstowe and uses as many free trade ingredients as possible.

"We wanted to run an ice cream shop and are very pleased with how it has gone so far - lots of the traders were saying their business was 25 per cent down on the seafront this year because of the poor weather, but we fared quite well," added Mrs Fotherby.

What's the most unusual Christmas food you have tasted? Wrote to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1An, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk