Food delivery giant Deliveroo is pledging to match customers’ tips and donate the same amount of cash to local restaurants hit by Covid restrictions.

In recognition that thousands of small businesses have been forced to close their doors to diners because of Covid restrictions, Deliveroo has pledged to match customers’ tips up until Christmas Day.

A donation to a restaurant that has been forced to close to diners for eat-in meals can be made by searching ‘tip match’ in the Deliveroo app.

Just before a customer confirms their order at ‘checkout’ on the Deliveroo app or website, they are able to opt in to add a restaurant tip, either by selecting from a list of pre-determined values or adding an amount of their choice.

The chosen amount for the tip is added to the total cost of a customer's order and passed on to the restaurant.

So far this year, Deliveroo customers have given a total of over £1.1 million in tips to restaurants across the UK.

Will Shu, Deliveroo chief executive and founder, said: “Christmas is typically an incredibly busy time for restaurants as they traditionally welcome families and parties through their doors.

"This year, with more restrictions, restaurants need our support.

"Tipping in-app is an easy way for customers to show their appreciation for their favorite local restaurant. We want to work with our customers to help ease the pressure on restaurants and show how much they mean to us, especially at this time of year.”

Deliveroo will match tips paid to eligible restaurants up to a total value of £60,000 until midnight on Christmas Eve up to the value of £20 per tip.