Leader: Such sweet sorrow if we lose our Highland Toffee

GeNErations of Scottish children have been brought up on them, relishing the time it took to chew one into submission. Dentists officially disapproved but unofficially must have been happy as they got on with the business of replacing dislodged filings. They were cheap, sweet and sticky. And they may be no more.

We are talking, of course, about the Highland Toffee bar, which evolved from the legendary Penny Dainty, a delicacy whose future is uncertain after the company which makes it, New McCowans, was forced to call in the administrators as it struggles to make financial ends meet.

Losing the Highland Toffee bar would be like losing other great Scottish confectionery classics such as Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers or Lees’ Macaroon bars, items which are part of our sweet-toothed past and must be part of our future, even in these more health-conscious times.

Last night a spokesman for the administrators said there had been expressions of interest from potential buyers of the firm, which employs some 200 staff. We hope that a white knight of sweetie-making is chewing over an offer which will save an iconic Scottish brand from becoming nothing more than a dainty memory.