Furious parents have slammed the meals at their children’s secondary school – including a ham toastie with hardly any ham in.

They say it’s not unusual for pupils to come home starving because of the tiny portion sizes at Looe Community Academy in Looe, Cornwall.

Mum Wendy Murray shared a photo of a ham and cheese toastie her son had which she claimed actually had very little of both items inside, CornwallLive reports.

The photo shows just a slither of ham inside the snack.

Wendy spoke to other parents who had similar concerns including a lack of healthy options.

One parent said their child had hidden food in the school before because he didn’t want to be told off for not eating it.

Another said their youngster was given a dry burger with no sauce.

Wendy said: "I think it needs to be addressed.

"There are many people who rely on a hot healthy edible meal once a day and it’s not just people on the poorer end of the spectrum who need that, it’s busy working families who don’t necessarily have time to cook until later in the evening.

"I just find it shocking and I’m feeling guilty that I haven’t done something about it before but now I have seen it and I’m starting to get pictures from other people I’m not going to sit back and ignore it.

"Another parent shared an awful picture of a dry burger with me.

"Even McDonald’s offer onion, sauces, butter and lettuce and it’s fresh and hot. This is madness."

Another parent said her son complains every evening about the food on offer and often comes home "starving".

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She said: "My son is supposed to have a so-called school meal each lunchtime but every evening he gets home and moans how disgusting the food was at lunch and when there is something nice there isn't enough to go around."

Another parent said both his children often buy food and chuck it away.

He added: "My youngest child has even hidden food in the school before because he didn’t want to get told off and he now has packed lunches."

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A spokesman for Looe Community Academy said: "From the image we received, the toasted sandwich does appear to be lacking in ham, but this could have been quickly and easily resolved had the item been returned at the time, or reported to a member of the duty staff.

"In respect of yesterday’s burger offer, our caterer had run out of the regular burger buns and improvised using baps, which, on reflection, made the burger look rather small.

"Students are encouraged to make their own food choices, and therefore we provide sauces on the counter as well as sides."

The school said pupils are encouraged to communicate when they are not satisfied with their meal.

They are encouraged to take the food back and get a replacement or refund and staff will help any shy kids.

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