SUPERMARKETS have come under fire from one independent producer based near Wellington for giving dairy farmers a raw deal.

John Cottrell, of Gundenham Dairy at North Gundenham, says supermarkets need to look after the producers, not just their shareholders.

He also understood why farmers had taken direct action - such as a tractor protest in Bridgwater, clearing milk from supermarket shelves and marching cows down dairy aisles - and worried about the future of dairy farming.

Mr Cottrell said: “The supermarkets, by selling milk so cheaply - it’s 89p or less everywhere - have downgraded and debased a very valuable product to less than half the value of water.