A nine-year-old schoolgirl has become an internet superstar a month after she started a blog posting pictures of her school dinners.
Martha Payne, from Lochgilphead, Argyll, has received more than a million hits and messages of support from celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Nick Nairn, as well as hundreds of outraged replies from shocked viewers around the world.
In her latest post, she said: "When I started writing this I thought only my family and friends would see it so it's amazing so many people have visited and you all care about school food."
Martha's first picture on the NeverSeconds blog, posted on May 8, showed a small square of pizza, a potato croquette, a couple of dozen pieces of sweetcorn and a cupcake for dessert.
She rates each meal out of 10 for food quality and health, as well as listing the number of mouthfuls and the standard cost of £2.
More recently she has started inviting viewers from around the world to send in pictures of their own school dinners to compare with her school's menu.
Replies have come in from countries such as the United States, Germany and Japan, many of them expressing horror at the small, unappetising portions in the pictures.
One commenter from the States wrote: "Your principal and school board should be on trial for child abuse - and no cafeteria staff should be willing to serve this garbage to children."
A week after she started the blog Martha's father had a tweet from Jamie Oliver calling her posts "shocking but inspirational", prompting a flurry of media interest.
She also noticed that the amount of fruit and vegetables on the menu started to increase, a development that coincided with the arrival of a council observation team and a reporter from the local newspaper at lunchtime.
"For the first time ever I have seen at lunch cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrot and cucumber shreddings," she wrote on May 15.
Since then, she says, the council has told pupils they are entitled to unlimited amounts of salad, fruit and bread.
A statement by Argyll and Bute Council said: "Our school meal provision is fully compliant with nationally agreed nutritional standards."
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