WREXHAM Council has been slammed over a new policy which could see primary children go hungry if there is any debt on their school dinner account.

The local authority has written to parents across the county advising them that they must clear any outstanding balances by November 5, 2018 or face the possibility of youngsters not being fed.

Families of those attending primary schools will now be forced to pay for meals in advance, according to a letter by the council’s catering manager.

However, the move has been strongly criticised by the leaders of a charity set up to tackle poverty, who said it could impact on childrens’ education.

Pritie Billimoria, head of communications at Turn2us, said: “It is disappointing and we imagine hugely concerning for many parents who are struggling to make ends meet that their children are at risk of missing out on their only hot meal of the day.

“Particularly, at a time where more and more parents are struggling to ensure their children can eat a nutritious meal and a rising number of children are starting their first and final years of primary school underweight.

“This is particularly important considering there is a well-recognised relationship between eating well and learning.

“Currently more than one in four of primary school parents report having skipped meals to make ends meet, and this decision by Wrexham Council may well exacerbate the problem as parents have less flexibility to balance their budgets.

“This is sadly another example of local authorities being less flexible in their attitude towards debt than many other creditors.”

She added that it could also place an increased burden on school staff.

The move has been met with a backlash by parents on social media.

But in the letter, Wrexham Council said: “Wrexham School Meals are unfortunately no longer able to continue allowing parents and guardians of primary school pupils to run up debts on meal accounts, and from 05/11/18 you must ensure that all school meals are paid for in advance.

“This is the same system currently in place for high school pupils in Wrexham.

“Any existing debts must be cleared by that date, and we will not serve any meals to pupils whose accounts are in debt, you will need to provide a packed lunch.”