Ice-cream lovers were in for a treat during Ben & Jerry's annual Free Cone Day on Tuesday.

This year, a total of 17,600 free cones were given out at the 313@Somerset and Dempsey outlets. There were 14 flavours on offer, including Cherry Garcia, Triple Caramel Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Madam Pooja Manohar, 37, and her six-year-old son Aum (both right) travelled from their home in Sengkang to get free cones at the 313@Somerset outlet.

They queued up twice because Aum wanted two cones and they spent around 20 minutes queueing each time, says Madam Manohar. "It was a fun experience for my son and even though we can afford to buy ice cream, getting them for free is thrilling," she adds.

Patrons at the 313@Somerset outlet also had the chance to compete in The Ultimate Conedown Challenge, where participants had one chance to finish their ice-cream cone in the shortest time possible.

Freelance photographer Ng Chin Sheng, 40, beat more than 230 competitors with a record-breaking time of seven seconds. Last year's winner took 23 seconds.

Mr Ng, who is also a competitive eater, walked away with 365 free Ben & Jerry's Scoop vouchers. He is thinking of sharing the vouchers with his friends. "I actually don't eat ice cream often, perhaps only once every few weeks. One person can't eat so much ice cream alone."

Desiree Loh