HOT school meals are being axed at a Bournemouth junior school because it costs too much to serve them.

Pupils at Stourfield Junior School will have the choice of paying for a cold meal or taking a packed lunch from September.

Parents have been told that food will no longer be provided by Harrison's Caterers and that a new supplier will provide cold meals from the start of the new term.

Current options include roast dinner, lasagne, sausage and mash, jacket potatoes, curry and rice, macaroni cheese and fruit crumble.

No details are yet available about the content of the meals on offer after the summer holiday.

Parent Victoria Uphill said her son, Jacob, enjoys hot lunches and she is disappointed they are going to stop.

"At Stourfield Infants they only serve cold lunches so he was really excited when he moved up to the junior school because they served nice, hot food.

"He's been there for less than a year and it's being taken away from him. As a parent I would much prefer for my son to have a hot meal at lunch time, particularly in the winter.

"For some children the school lunch is their only hot meal of the day but they will no longer get it because of the government's spending cuts. The school says it can't afford to pay the staff needed to provide a hot lunch."

In a letter to parents, head teacher Emma Rawson said: "Unfortunately there will no longer be a hot school meal service from September 2018 due to budgetary constraints.

"Further details regarding September meal options will be provided as soon as these have been received from the new supplier."

She urged parents whose children may be eligible for free school meals to check if they qualify and added: "It only takes a few minutes to complete and will attract additional funding for the school that could be spent to benefit your child’s education."