TESCO says it has donated nearly half a million (487,342) meals of surplus food in Wiltshire.

It says it hit a milestone of 50 million meals being donated across the UK last week.

The food has been donated through the Community Food Connection scheme it operates with food redistribution charity FareShare.

Since the start of the pandemic almost 700 new groups have signed up to receive food from the scheme. FareShare’s Chief Executive Lindsay Boswell said the scheme was making a real difference.

“It is a real game-changer for organisations working with the vulnerable, allowing even more people to access good to eat food which would otherwise go to waste.”

The scheme works by pairing charities and community groups with their local Tesco store. At the end of each day a store colleague works out which food is likely to be unsold and then uses a specially-developed app to tell a local charity or community group what food can be collected.