A TASTE of chocolate-making has been enjoyed by a York MP as part of English Tourism Week.

Hugh Bayley, who represents York Central, swapped the Commons for confectionary at York's Chocolate Story, in King's Square, as nationwide events showcase the importance of the visitor economy, which supports 20,000 York jobs and brings in £606 million a year. He said: "Like anybody else, I can be rather partial to a piece of chocolate, so it was great to have a go at creating my own bar and it’s good to have an attraction in York celebrating its reputation as a chocolate city.."

Jenny Tutty, York's Chocolate Story operations manager, said: "York’s chocolate-making heritage is an extremely important strand of the city’s history and we work hard with chocolate-makers throughout York to keep this story alive.” Kate McMullen, head of Visit York, said the chocolate attraction had been a hit with visitors since opening and had helped put the city's confectionary heritage on the map.