SALADS are to be offered free to school pupils at lunchtime in a bid to improve their eating habits.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has announced that the daily healthy alternative to traditional lunchtime grub will be given out to pupils.

The move comes just weeks after the Department for Education and Skills called on local authorities to do more to encourage youngsters to think about what they eat.

A report for ministers indicated that while schools were offering a healthy choice at lunchtimes, and teaching youngsters about eating healthily, many pupils are still opting for high-fat foods such as burgers.

With Blackburn near the top of the country's obesity league, and the school lunch often the only chance youngsters from deprived areas have of a healthy meal, council bosses are determined to get pupils to try new foods.

The scheme, which will be paid for within existing budgets, was thought up by the council.

Cath Hitchen, an assistant director within Blackburn with Darwen's education department, said: "As parents will know, it can be difficult to get teenagers to eat healthily at lunchtime because they have more choice in where and how they spend their lunch money.

"By providing free salad, sandwich bars and fruit on the menu and ensuring all meals meet strict nutritional guidelines, we hope to encourage them.

"Many of our schools have signed up to the National Healthy Schools Programme, which is a partnership with the Primary Care Trust.

"The programme covers all aspects of health and well being including educating children about healthy eating as well as wider topics such as sport and personal health issues."

Lancashire County Council said it was also looking at ways to make healthier alternatives appeal more to youngsters.

Like Blackburn with Darwen, it also runs incentive schemes in which children can collect points on a swipe card if they eat healthily.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 6,850 pupils - 28.7 per cent of the school population - are eligible for free school meals, while in schools run by Lancashire County Council, the figure is 29,560, or 17.23 per cent of the number of pupils in schools.

The children's charity Barnado's highlighted the importance of healthy school meals earlier this month when it claimed many children went without a nutritious meal during the summer holiday. A spokesman for the DFES said the free salads initiative was the perfect example of encouraging youngsters to try something different.

The Food Standards Agency - a Government body set up to regulate the food industry - said: "Children are still choosing meals which are high in fat, sugar and salt."