Dairy Crest has increased the price of a pint of milk sold through its Milk & More doorstop delivery service by 3p.

The move, ­announced last weekend, means one pint of semi-skimmed Countrylife milk in a glass bottle bought through Milk & More now costs 65p 20p more than one pint of own-label milk in the mults.

In a statement on its milk&more website, Dairy Crest said trading conditions were difficult, with many costs rising: "We have absorbed as many of these inflationary cost increases as possible. Despite our best efforts, we cannot absorb them all."

But some analysts are concerned the increase could have an effect on sales of other products available through the site. Dairy Crest's doorstep grocery sales were increasing, but the uplift was likely to have come through other products, said one analyst. "The system will only work if people order the milk."