Deliveroo will introduce the service next week, TechCrunch has reported. Customers will be able to have their orders dropped off at their doors without the need for any contact with a courier.

A Deliveroo spokesman said: “At Deliveroo we are taking action to keep our customers, riders and restaurants safe. To make our delivery service even safer we are introducing a no-contact, drop-off service.”

The initiative mirrors similar services introduced by businesses such as Instacart in the USA and a number of businesses in China in response to the coronavirus outbreak, which has now been declared a pandemic.