Children who regularly eat fruit at school also eat more fruit outside school hours, according to a new survey.

More than one in four children and their families ate more fruit at home after their school joined the National School Fruit Scheme, suggests the government-funded study.

Health minister John Reid announced that the government is to spend £77m rolling out the scheme across England. This will entail distributing fruit to two million children in 18,000 schools.

Using a sample of 1,000 parents and children, the NOPsurvey found that nearly half of parents questioned said the scheme had made them more aware of the importance of fruit for a healthy diet.

A million children age between four and six in England are now receiving free fruit everyday under the scheme, which so far has been operating in London, East Midlands, West Midlands and North West England, funded with £48m from the New Opportunities Fund.