Lewisham: Schoolchildren across the borough are being told they will become fat, spotty and flatulent if they keep drinking cow's milk.

Graphic cards will be handed out at schools as part of a war against milk-drinking, waged by an American animal rights group.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) believe dairy cows are treated as milk-machines, and drinking the calcium-rich fluid can cause ill health, as well as a scourge of unpleasant side-effects, including spots, wind, phlegm and obesity.

The group has been backed by the Advertising Standards Authority after it originally ordered the cards to be withdrawn because of the messages printed on them.

The reprinted versions are fair, according to the authority, and PETA confirmed it would be distributing the cards among its activists in Lewisham, Greenwich and Bromley. It expects schools in the area to be targeted over coming weeks.

And education authorities will not be able to stop the campaigners, who will speak to children outside school gates.

The group cite a number of experts to back up its case, including the late Dr Benjamin Spock, a leading authority on child care.

Dr Spock spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it can cause anaemia, allergies and insulin-dependent diabetes and in the long term will set kids up for obesity and heart disease, Britain's number one cause of death.

Spokesman for PETA Bruce Friedrich said: “We owe the dairy-pushers a debt of gratitude for focusing so much attention on just how horrible for human health and animal welfare their products really are.

“The new versions are even more damning of dairy than the previous ones.”

PETA's 'Milk Sucks' campaign propoganda outlines the group's objections to dairy farming.

It states: “Corporate-owned factories where cows are warehoused in huge sheds and treated like milk machines have replaced most small family farms.

“Genetic manipulation and unnatural milking schedules cause dairy cows' udders to become painful and so heavy that they sometimes drag on the ground, resulting in frequent infections and overuse of antibiotics.

“Cows, like all mammals, make milk to feed their own babies not humans.”

l If you or your children have suffered negative side effects after drinking milk, or you would like to comment on this story, email csteel@london.newsquest.co.uk