MILK campaigners in East Lancashire have enlisted the help of the Women’s Institute to shame supermarkets into paying them a living wage.

Protesters from Gisburn WI lobbied customers outside the Asda store in Colne on Saturday in the latest wave of action against the price paid by the high street giants to suppliers.

And Kathleen Calvert, who helps to run a dairy farm in Gisburn, said: “We received a lot of support from shoppers and even ran out of leaflets.

“We have got to get the message across that these retailers are ruining the lives of ordinary working people.”

Mrs Calvert and WI colleagues took part in a similar protest at Asda in Fulwood, Preston, which prompted staff to call the police. But the Colne protest saw no such intervention.

“I think they have realised that the police are there to uphold the law and not to save the likes of Asda from embarrassment,” she added.Supermarket bosses at Asda, Morrisons and Co-operative have announced they will be increasing the prices paid to suppliers.

But Mrs Calvert is keen to ensure that the major players stick to their word and do not quietly introduce reductions when the present furore dies down.