Well-heeled guests at one of London's top hotels will soon be greeted by a mouth-watering piece of architecture every time they step into the lobby thanks to the artistry of an Oxfordshire chocolate producer.

Elliotts of Oxford, which employs seven people at its Kidlington office and another six at Ostend, in Belgium, has created a 60kg chocolate in the shape of The Ritz Hotel.

The model is the company's contribution to the centenary celebrations of the famous five-star hotel, in Piccadilly.

Managing director Railton Elliott said: "Ritz Hotel clients will be invited to bid for the chocolate model, which measures 1.25m by 0.75m, and will be housed in a specially-made cabinet."

The proceeds of the auction will go to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Mr Elliott founded the firm 25 years ago and has been supplying the Ritz with chocolates for 20 years.

Other hotels the company supplies include the Savoy, Four Seasons, Landmark, Grosvenor House and Dorchester.

Some guests at Oxford's Randolph Hotel are likely to find chocolates, in a box shaped like an academic's mortar board, in their rooms, thanks to Elliotts' chocolatiers.