FAN-TASTIC is the look on customers' faces when they track down a rare piece of essential cooling-down equipment.

Fans are in rare supply and the super-duper cold air variety Apollo 2000 at Pitwines, Poole, had on offer were soon snapped up.

"We sold 60-plus in a morning," said showroom manager Russell Broom. "We had people queuing up and one customer bought four."

The £44.99 cube-shaped fans are not as powerful as the larger oscillating type but are cooler, as the air passes over an ice-pack.

Now the frantic hunt is on to find some more for the melting customers of Poole, before the heat-wave passes on.

"I am getting some more from other branches where the demand isn't so great and I hope to have them on Friday," said Mr Broom.

The sizzling temperatures have also sent sales of Purbeck Ice Cream through the roof.

In a bid to keep cool, the nation has been quick to snap up tubs, increasing sales for this time of year by a whopping 30 per cent.

To meet the tremendous demand more staff have been recruited by the Kingston-based company and all are working around-the-clock to produce the much-loved various flavoured ice creams and sorbets.

Hotels, restaurants and ice cream sellers have been buying in bulk with some even collecting orders themselves, unable to wait for their next delivery.

But it is the small tubs that have proven most popular. Every day staff have worked tirelessly to produce an incredible 5,000 of the individual 125ml tubs.

"With the hot weather sales have gone absolutely ballistic," said Hazel Hartle, one of the owners of Purbeck Ice Cream.

However, the hot weather has brought along its own unique problems.

While shopkeepers in Poole have reported a 50 per cent increase in the sale of soft drinks, sales in chocolate have been literally melting away.

Elizabeth Williams, who works at the Candy Box on Poole Quay said: "Demand for soft drinks has gone up by half because of the unusually hot weather but sales of chocolate have gone right down.

"This is only the second time in fifteen years that we have lost any stock because of the weather. We haven't had to throw too much away though, only the chocolate that's on display. It's mainly the thinner coated chocolate that's been affected."

Andy Shickle, who works for Candy Chocs in Broadstone said: "Drink sales have gone up but about 80 per cent of our chocolate is melting so it's swings and roundabouts.

"We have sold about eight more cases of water than usual since the really hot weather began last Wednesday.

"We may have to send some of our chocolate back to the larger companies although we will be lucky to see a return on even half of that 80 per cent melted stock."