Oh, The Humanity!

Pupils from two Brentwood primary schools will return from their summer holidays to cold school lunches.

Not, as you might expect from the hysterical wailing, bread and water, though...

Ann Cardus, whose two children attend St Thomas's, is worried about this development.

She said: "Hot dinners are a key part of a child's day and it is an important option to have available, especially for those on free school meals.

"My children are fortunate in that they aren't in the free school meals bracket, but for those who are, the hot dinner can often be the only good meal they get."

That's a deeper problem than the school can hope to solve, I think you'll find...

The 45-year-old, of Highlands Avenue, stressed that it was not extra work for herself that is bothering her.

She said: "My eight-year-old son will not be able to get a hot meal during the day, and yes, this will mean extra work for me, but the real concern is for the children's wellbeing."

Of course it is...