A CONFECTIONER is hoping to sweeten the Queen's vist to Blackburn by treating her to a box of his handmade Belgian chocolates.

Ian Sutherland, owner of Cafe Beees, has spent hours handcrafting the truffles and prailines that will fill the milk chocolate box to be presented to Her Majesty as she tours Church Street on Thursday.

And Ian, 45, is confident that his chocolates will please the Royal palate as he has cooked for Royalty twice before.

He was asked to prepare a wedding cake for Prince Charles' wedding to Lady Diana Spencer and one for Prince Andrew's wedding to Sarah Ferguson.

The chocolate box, which has been decorated with Blackburn's coat of arms and white roses, will be filled with a mixture of Mandarin Domes, Almond Prailines, Champagne Truffles and Dark Belgian Coco-pods.

It will be presented by one of the children who has won a Blackburn with Darwen Council school competition to present flowers and gifts to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

And although Ian said he is sure the box will be in safe hands, he has made a spare just in case "any accidents happen."

He said: "I was asked by the council to create something that could be presented to the Queen and at first thought that we could buy a basket and fill it with our chocolates.

"But then my wife Beryl said that if we were going to do it we were going to do it properly and decided to create everything by hand.

"We wanted it to be something really special and it has taken about ten hours from start to finish to prepare.

"It has to be right but then we always try to make everything right for everybody we serve not just the Queen.

"I just hope that she does eat some of them and can see what we can produce here in Blackburn.

"But you never know do you they could end being passed round her staff or even fed to her Corgis!"

Ian, who has won the British Baker Championships for the last 12 years, is now just waiting for local artist Chris Oddie to create a menu card which will go with the chocolates.

Chris has taken one of each of the four chocolates away to sketch to ensure that every part of the gift stays handmade by home-grown Blackburn talent.

Elsewhere in the town gardeners have been busy planting flowers along the Boulevard to ensure the town looks its best when it welcomes the royal party to Lancashire.

And a huge mesh wrap has gone up opposite the Pavillions to cover three major buildings.

The buildings are all due for demolition under the £45million extension to the Mall.

The wrap which reads "We're making monster changes" will cover the vacant former Famous Army Stores and Co-op buildings, and also the Flying Haggis pub, all of which are to be bulldozed in the scheme.