Three hot meals a day with a choice of menu and drinks. That is what is on offer to people detained in police stations in Kent.

Figures obtained by the KM Group under the Freedom of Information Act show that the force spent just under £150,000 on food and drink for those under arrest between April 2007, and April this year.

And with 50,978 people arrested over the same period, that equates to £2.94 per person.

But the level of 'room service' for those detained is not the same across the county.

As the figures below show, police in west Kent spent the lowest in the last financial year - with just £9,205.03 catering for its 6,558 detainees, around £1.40 per head.

But people under arrest in north Kent enjoyed a positively lavish lifestyle, with £43,197 spent in Dartford and Gravesham – around £5.94 for each of the 7,273 people detained.

Steve Seabrook, a finance officer at Kent Police, said detainees were offered three hot meals each day, along with a choice of drinks including water, tea or hot chocolate.

Vegetarian options, as well as meals for those with special dietary requirements, are also available.

He said: "All the food is brought in by the same company and the specification for the meals is set by the Home Office.

"There are about six or eight meal options like lasagne or curry. The all day breakfast is quite popular."

He added: "There is no canteen - food would be brought to their cells and the jailor goes round and asks what they want. Food can also be brought in by relatives but it has to be checked.

"The whole object is to make sure people are fit and well and they can be moved through the judicial system."