LEIGH schoolchildren must wait until May to receive a Lotto free fruit every school day.

This week the National Lottery's good cause distributors, the New Opportunities Fund, moved into top gear to put the school fruit pilot programme into action in the North West.

However, local four to six-year-olds are in the third rollout phase and must wait until May 19 to receive their portions.

A fund spokesman said: "All evidence points to the fact that eating fruit early in life will help children form habits that will benefit them in the long term and help reduce the likelihood of serious illness later in life."

Research from early pilot schemes shows that the most popular fruit is the banana followed by apples, satsumas, clementines and pears.