Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has made a fleet of vehicles available to the British Red Cross during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 57 vehicles will be used to deliver medicine and food to vulnerable people across the UK.

They include 27 new Defenders, which were previously set aside for use in a marketing campaign which has been put on hold due to the virus.

The scheme is part of a global effort which has seen more than 160 JLR vehicles deployed around the world.

Some 65 vehicles are supporting the Red Cross in Australia, Spain, South Africa and France.

JLR customer experience director Finbar McFall said: “The health and safety of our employees, customers and their families remains our priority.

“Jaguar and Land Rover will do everything we can to support people in need around the world.

“Our partnership with the Red Cross goes back 65 years and we will work hand in hand with them to do all we can during this global health emergency.

“We will also provide help to those closer to home in our local communities. We can all play a part in helping the vulnerable during this global pandemic.”

British Red Cross head of crisis response Simon Lewis said: “We have been overwhelmed by the kindness shown across the country, not only by our increasing number of volunteers, but also our longstanding partners.

“Thanks to Land Rover’s generous support, our emergency response teams in the UK will be to reach even more people living in isolated communities than we could alone.”