£1 schoolkids deal in Camberwell Green – three chicken wings and fries

WITH its £1 “school kids offer” – which buys three wings and a portion of fries – it’s not hard to see why the children of Camberwell Green flock to one chicken shop after school.

The fast food outlet is one of more than 25 on or near the intersection which gives the neighbourhood its name, and where many pupils of the four nearby primary schools wait for their bus to go home.

Yesterday afternoon, blissfully unaware of their new role in Britain’s dire obesity story, dozens could be seen devouring their fatty meals. Serge Cafai, head teacher at the local Sacred Heart Catholic [secondary] School, was scathing. “There are two or three chicken shops right near the school and they don’t care how fat the kids are,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Temptation is everywhere. A survey undertaken by Southwark council last year indicated there were 400 takeaways in the borough, a seven per cent increase since 2014.

This helps explain how the ward of Camberwell Green is now the first in the country with more children leaving primary school aged 11 overweight or obese than are healthy: 50.9 per cent.

A staff member at the chicken shop, who refused to be named, said the £1 deal was working wonders.

“Sometimes we have 20 or more children in here,” she said. “This is their favourite offer.”

The Southwark borough sees 43 per cent of parents treating their children to a takeaway at least once a week, a previous Public Health England survey revealed. A total of 11 per cent of parents admitted their children were most likely to eat fast food on their way home from school.

At another local fast-food shop, Charlene Francis, 54, the assistant manager, said: “We have dozens of children who come in after school who have saved their lunch money and spend £3 or £4 for some patties.

“Lots of parents are coming in for an after-school meal quite regularly, so I am not surprised that Southwark kids are the fattest.”