Pupils at a Maidstone primary school have been invited to test paper straws after outlining concerns over plastic waste in a letter to their milk provider.

A group of seven 'Eco Warriors' - aged between five and 11 - from Platts Heath on Headcorn Road wrote to the managing director of Cool Milk urging the firm to scrap its plastic straws over fears of a detrimental impact on the environment.

It comes as the government today launched proposals to ban plastic straws and cotton buds, with prime minister Theresa May describing such waste as "one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world".

After receiving the children's letter, assisted by lobbying from Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately, managing director John Sedgwick then replied, inviting pupils to be Cool Milk's guinea pigs in a bid to make its products more environmentally-friendly.

He said: "It is comforting to know that our next generation of leaders are going to take care of this planet of ours.

"We are working vigorously with the dairies and suppliers of packaging and straws to ensure that we provide milk in the best possible way for our environment and your enjoyment.

"We are soon going to be trialling some paper based straws. We need to test them to see if they can pierce the carton and that the milk tastes just as nice. Who better to undertake this mission for us than the Platts Heath Eco Warriors?"

Teacher Catherine Motley, who runs the Eco Warriors group, said: "The children were highlighting the fact they have seen a lot on the news and on Planet Earth about the dangers of plastic waste.

"They were also inspired by a primary school in Scotland which had gone into local cafes and restaurants and managed to convince them to change from plastic straws.

"The general idea is to save the environment and obviously it's their generation that will face the biggest impact."