WHILE the Queen comes to Blackburn Cathedral to distribute her traditional Maundy Thursday gifts of special coins to 176 selected pensioners, the nearby market will be saving the town’s OAPs a few pennies.

The ‘Pensioner’s Perks’ will launch what the market’s commercial manager David Smith calls ‘an exciting Easter’.

Senior Citizens will be invited to take advantage of special offers to mark the royal visit.

Available between April 14 and 26, they include 15 per cent off a meal with a drink from Butler’s Café or Spindles Diner, free cake with every tea or coffee at Aharonis, a free drink with every sandwich at Wellbread, and 10 per cent off pick ‘n’ mix sweets from Sugar Rush.

Mr Smith said: ‘We are very excited about the Queen’s visit to Blackburn and this is our opportunity to give something back to our older, loyal customers. “We hope to open up the glass doors on to Church Street giving us an alfresco feel for the Queen’s visit.

“We will have an array of pop-up craft and gift stalls visiting for the week, including wood crafts, hand painted glass, crystal gifts, hand-painted tiles.’ Its ‘Easter Eggstravaganza’ includes children’s crafts, a giant egg raffle, martial arts displays, photographic exhibitions and special offers for senior citizens.

Celebrity Chef Philippa James will launched her demonstration kitchen with a special lamb dish for Easter and a salmon recipe using fresh produce from the stalls.

The market will launch its first E-commerce site as part of a drive to offer online shopping and a click and collect service.