THE owner of a café has hit out at reports suggesting tourist attractions are serving up unhealthy food to children.

Nett Ward, owner of the Orchard Café, at the Countryside Centre, Spetchley, Worcester, is concerned about reports in the national media suggesting Britain's best attractions fail to offer healthy options for youngsters.

She said: "There's been a lot of talk about parents taking their children out, but the food on offer being of quite poor quality."

"I think the criticism was aimed more at theme parks. I think people are serving unhealthy food because they're probably not passionate about food and they're cooking what they think people want. I think that's wrong. We are a lot more aware of dietary problems and a lot more aware of what we should be eating. An option is to take your own picnic but you can't always do that. You should be able to offer good honest food without it having to cost the earth," said the 34-year-old mother-of-two.

She said ever since she took over the café in the grounds of Worcester Woods Country Park with her husband Guy, aged 34, in January, they have strived to offer a wide-range of homemade, healthy foods. There's not a chicken nugget or fish finger in sight," she said.

"We're getting a lot of local produce. We're passionate about doing it and it's really easy to do. I think this is the way forward." she said.

A spokeswoman for West Midland Safari Park, near Bewdley, said: "We try to reach a balance between what our visitors wish to eat, which is mostly fast food, and the choice of an alternative healthier option.

"The decision will always rest with the purchaser as it is driven by demand and supply.

"We, like most of the other major attractions, are committed to reducing trans fats in our food."