North Tyneside Mayor John Harrison will today seek backing for his plans to offer free meals to all primary school children.

The policy was a key pledge ahead of his narrow election win last year.

A cabinet meeting today will be asked to approve plans to spend £250,000 on a pilot programme offering free meals to eight schools in the borough.

The full policy is forecast to cost £4m a year if it is rolled out across North Tyneside.

Mr Harrison wants to implement the plan to help tackle obesity problems in the borough. Measurements in June found 15.1% of children in North Tyneside were obese, with a further 14.2% overweight.

Schools which volunteer for the pilot will be asked from September next year to test four different options for free meals.

Some will be given a free midday meal, others will get a breakfast before school with cereal, toast, milk, fruit and fruit juice.

Other alternatives include a mid-morning "second breakfast" of fruit, drinks and "bread products", or healthy snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Cabinet member Norma Redfearn said: "Our young people are the future and this is about ensuring they are healthy."