THE SWEET-TOOTHED residents of a Perthshire town will never be late again thanks to a fantastic creation that Willie Wonka himself would be proud of.

Gordon & Durward’s sweet shop has been a fixture of life in Crieff for decades and generations of youngsters have spent many happy hours gazing longingly through the window.

Now they will be able to check just how long they have spent fantasising about everything from sugar mice to macaroons thanks to the new addition of a rather tasty-looking grandfather clock.

The fabulous timepiece— which is in full working order—has been created from thousands of delicious sweet treats.

Shop owner Graham Donaldson said the clock had taken more than two months to create, but was a real labour of love.

“We just thought it would look really nice in the window and we are pretty pleased with how it has turned out,” he said.

“It did take a lot of work and it was certainly a major undertaking.

“Kathleen Cowie, a student who has worked with us throughout her studies, made the frame and then my wife Caroline, who is a pastry chef and quite artistic, covered it in sweets.”

Graham put the mechanism in place and was delighted to set the pendulum swinging for the first time.

“It is a nice feature and since it is proving to be a bit of a talking point we decided to try and make some cash for charity out of it,” he said.

“We have surrounded the bottom of the clock with Jelly Belly beans and are asking customers to pay 50p to guess how many there are.

“I suppose we could have asked how many sweets it took to make the clock but there is no way I am going to count them all!” Graham added.

All proceeds will go to Breast Cancer Care and the customer who comes closest to the correct total will win a hamper packed with tasty treats.

Previously the window of Gordon & Durward featured a fat lady made of sweets.

“She was looking a bit tired so we had to retire her,” Graham said.

And as soon as he realised it was time for a change, a grandfather clock was the obvious option.