Children who fail to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day are depriving themselves of essential vitamins and nutrients, and could be at increased risk of developing cancer.

This is the warning given by the World Cancer Research Fund which reveals that four out of five children do not get their five a day and that the average for children aged five to 15 is only three a day, with one in 14 boys and one in 25 girls eating none a day.