Growing food in an allotment will encourage children into a healthy lifestyle, a school has claimed.

Pupils at William Bellamy Primary School will soon begin to develop an allotment in their school’s grounds as part of a project aimed at enhancing their knowledge of fruit and vegetables.

Donations are needed to support the project at the school, in Frizlands Lane, Dagenham, which has nearly 950 pupils.

“This project is designed to let us work with the pupils and their parents to enhance education and give them the knowledge of a variety of different fruit and vegetables to encourage a healthy lifestyle,” said teacher Ranjit Singh.

He added that children in Barking and Dagenham have higher than average levels of obesity, with 14 per cent of children in reception year and 24 per cent of children in Year 6 being at risk.

n Visit williambellamy.co.uk to make a donation.