On paper, it must have seemed like the perfect lockdown business plan.
Get a coffee van, drive it to the Angel of the North, and earn a few pounds flogging frothy coffees to walkers enjoying their daily exercise.
However, one mobile barista has been given their marching orders from the landmark by council officials - after it emerged their paperwork wasn't in order.
"It has been explained to the owner of a coffee van that traders need both a licence to pitch on Council land and a Street Trading Consent," said a Gateshead Council spokesperson.
"Currently, they have neither."
The authority added that the trader even faced the "risk of legal action" if they didn't move away from Sir Antony Gormley's world-famous sculpture.
A symbol of the North East, the artwork is also Britain's biggest sculpture.
Despite being a major North East landmark - and a scenic spot for locals to enjoy a lockdown stroll - nobody is currently permitted to operate a van at the site.
The council said there are plans in place to hopefully allow someone trade there later in the year, once the pandemic has eased.
However, according to the council's website, Street Trading Consent isn't cheap. A licence for one year currently costs over £780.
"The council is not looking to put this trading concession out to tender at the present time as we don’t feel it’s appropriate to encourage people to congregate in public during a pandemic," added the spokesperson.
"We are hoping to let this concession later in the spring, however. In the meantime, we will be ensuring that our enforcement team is aware of the situation."
Recently, the Angel found itself at the centre of even more drama, after it emerged views of the iconic sculpture could soon be worse for thousands of drivers passing it every day.
That's because £250m plans to widen the adjacent A1 could see gantries erected - hindering the view of motorists heading northbound.
