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A headteacher has hit out after a parent gave his child a 'cold McDonald's' for a packed lunch.

Jon Carthy, head of Byron Primary School in Kent, issued a newsletter to parents this week after a number of 'extreme and unacceptable' packed lunches had been given to kids at the school.

These included a cold McDonald's Happy Meal which was purchased the previous evening, two bags of crisps and a crisp sandwich, four yogurts and a packet of Smarties, and one chocolate muffin, a chocolate roll and a bar of chocolate.

Jon told Kent Live : "We have 525 children at the school and every single child took that letter home and it has been posted on the website.

"I've only had positive comments back. Parents have said thank you and told me that someone needed to say this."

The letter mentioned four meals that had been brought in by children to highlight how bad some lunchboxes are.

It read: "In the past few weeks there have been a number of worrying packed lunches brought into school.

"Whilst extreme and funny to read on paper, I must make this clear THESE ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE examples of a balanced packed lunch.

"Children work very hard at school and a balanced meal at lunch time helps provide concentration for the afternoon."

Jon joined the school in 2014 and often talks about healthy school meals in his weekly bulletin.

(Image: Rex)

He said: "I send a letter home every week as a way of communication to the parents regularly. I always include a headline article and I often talk about school meals and packed lunches.

"We can never promote it enough. I felt the examples would help them understand and show that I'm taking it seriously.

"I was trying to give some advice and guidance as well. I think most schools are taking it seriously as it is part of the curriculum but it is hard to monitor lunches coming in."

As well as issuing the letter, Jon encourages staff to eat alongside their pupils and is hoping to open a new cooking facility subject to planning permission.