A pub in Salisbury inspired by the work of footballer Marcus Rashford has decided to offer free meals for children during half-term.

Starting from today, The George and Dragon on Castle Street will be feeding kids who might otherwise go hungry for free.

It is the second business in the Salisbury area stepping up to help struggling families following the government's refusal to extend free school meals.

Landlord Nathan Lamb, who runs the pub with his brother Nick, said: "We've seen the need for it, I've got some friends of mine that are struggling and Covid has hit everyone hard. 

"You look at Twitter and you see what Marcus Rashford has done, it's phenomenal. Hopefully the government will see that and make another U-turn."

The Manchester United and England striker has been at the forefront of the campaign against child food poverty forcing the government to extend the voucher scheme throughout the summer holidays.

Faced with the same dilemma this week, MPs chose not to extend the scheme into half-term. Salisbury MP John Glen is among those who refused to back Labour's motion.

Since then, hundreds of businesses up and down the country have stepped in to help families in need, including The George and Dragon and home care agency There4U.

Mr Lamb added: "[If the government don't make a U-turn] hopefully, locally, we can be the catalyst and we can all work together."

Free meals for children are available Monday to Friday.

There are no terms and conditions and no criteria to meet.