Gold Standard St Helens Council licensed drivers are among those offering a wide range of discounts and support for people including collecting and dropping off deliveries for the vulnerable or those who are self-isolating.

It includes Cable Taxis offering a 10 per cent discount for all NHS staff, A to B offering 10 per cent discount to NHS and care workers and Britannia offering reduced rates for NHS staff or those with an evidence letter.

It comes as national group Uber also offer 200,000 free trips up to the value of £15 each to help NHS staff travel to work as well as providing meals. To claim a journey or meal visit www.uber.com/NHS.

Councillor Jeanie Bell, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: “We are always very proud of our Gold Standard taxi drivers and once again they have shown why we want to back our drivers who are very much key workers in their own right by helping to get front line staff to work or going above and beyond to help those in isolation.

“We know that they are being backed up too by their operators who are offering financial support for the taxi drivers through delaying fees payments and other measures to help them through what is a difficult time for so many people financially. These are people who live and work in our town and we’ve been supporting many through #KnowYourRide so please make sure to support our local businesses who need our help more than ever, especially when social distancing measures are removed. Our heartfelt thanks goes to the drivers and companies who show how we are working together in the face of these difficult times.”