A group of West Country dairy farmers have delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street demanding government action over the activities of supermarkets.

Working under the banner ‘The Great Milk Robbery’, 17 young farmers dressed up as dairy cows to deliver their petition to No 10.

They also visited shadow agriculture minister Jim Paice in the House of Commons and Daniel Kawczynski, Tory MP and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dairy Farmers. Also backing the campaign were Conservative MPs Hugo Swire and Neil Parish.

"Dairy farmers simply cannot go on producing milk at a loss,” said campaign organiser Sally Dare. “Unless they get a better price for their milk soon, the industry will collapse and we will be forced to import most of our milk from abroad.”

The group have visited supermarkets across the south-west to generate public support for the campaign. A survey of 3000 shoppers revealed that only 29% knew how much they had paid for their milk, and an astonishing 98% agreed that the government needed to investigate supermarkets’ actions.

“The public are on our side and are happy to pay more for their milk if it is passed back to the farmers,” said Mrs Dare.

“Farmers get an average of 18p/litre for milk which sells for 51p in supermarkets, but the cost of production is 21p. More than 1000 dairy farmers have quit in the past year and that will continue to grow unless the government intervenes.”

Sam Parris, 25, who keeps 110 British Friesians at Blackhayes Farm, Yarcombe, Devon, said he was fed up with supermarkets profiteering at the expense of their suppliers.

“We believe that supermarkets are operating a cartel to keep prices low without dropping their profit margin. The government needs to take action to clamp down on these unfair practices.”

He was disappointed that no labour MPs were available to meet the group. “David Milliband represents our industry and he should have been there to hear our views. Hopefully, he will at least reply to the petition.”

The group are now seeking dairy farmers from across the country to join in their campaign. For more details see www.thegreatmilkrobbery.co.uk.