THE country will celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign in June — and we are inviting youngsters in Bolton to take part in the fun.

We want children to draw or paint a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

Our Paint a Portrait of the Queen competition will give youngsters the chance to show off their artistic skills and win some fantastic prizes.

Over the next four weeks, children aged 12 and under will be able to send us their pictures created lovingly in any medium — including paint, pencils, felt-tip pens or crayons.

The winners will have their designs immortalised in a professional print by Impression Ltd, of Evans Business Centre, Manchester Road, Bolton — a company which provides a variety of creative services.

The pictures will also be reproduced on a large block of milk chocolate, courtesy of the renowned Whitefield patissier and chocolatier, Slattery’s.

The winner in each age category will be given a one kilo bar of chocolate featuring their picture, while two runners-up in each age group will receive a 350g bar each.

The best pictures will also appear in a special supplement in The Bolton News in May, and readers will be able to vote for their favourites over the following week.

There will be two age categories, for four to seven years and eight to 12 years.

The closing date for entries is April 27 and the winners will be announced before the Jubilee in June.

All you need to do to enter is cut out the form in today’s paper, draw your design on the template and send it to us at Editorial, The Bolton News, Newspaper House, Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1DE.

The form will be repeated in the paper over the next few weeks and is also available on our website at theboltonnews.co.uk/ paintaportrait.