PARENTS of primary school children will soon have to fork out an extra 10p for their school meals, Thurrock Council has announced.

The cost of a school dinner will rise to £1.45 in the borough's primary schools as the council looks to meet the rising levels of inflation and the cost of providing a healthy diet for pupils.

The decision was agreed at last week's meeting of the cabinet and will be the first rise in the cost of school meals since the summer of 2003.

The new meal price of £1.45 is broadly equivalent to the national average where prices range from £1.10 to £1.85.

A report to Cabinet said the council's school's catering service faced a number of cost pressures including inflation and the healthy eating agenda, which had increased costs in terms of ingredients, labour and training.

The report added that the service cooks around a million meals a year, serving all but two of the borough's primary schools, two special schools and three secondary schools.

The service also provides meals to nine schools outside Thurrock.