Deliveroo has boosted its support of independent restaurants by launching a direct-tipping function on its app as part of a new campaign.

The Love Your Local campaign will see Deliveroo introduce a service that allows customers to tip restaurants on the app when they place an order.

Deliveroo said this would make it easier for customers to support their favourite local venues, with 100% of the tip going directly to the restaurant.

When customers pay at ‘checkout’ they can also round-up their bill or tip the restaurant from a selection of predetermined amounts.

Deliveroo said more than 4,000 local independent restaurants had joined its platform since lock-down began in March out of a total of 7,000 new restaurants.

It also said local restaurants saw a near 50% increase in customer orders compared with pre-covid levels.

As part of the campaign, Deliveroo is also helping small restaurant partners enforce social distancing by offering 25,000 in-restaurant signs free to 5,000 venues.

Signage includes floor stickers for safe distancing, hand-washing signs and bag-seal stickers.

Deliveroo has also launched Love Your Local Tuesdays, in which any customer who orders from a selection of local favourites on a Tuesday are automatically in with a chance of winning free Deliveroo for a year.

In total, 80 winners will receive free credit for a year, with ten customers a week awarded the prize during the eight weeks of summer.

Deliveroo chief executive Will Shu said: “Deliveroo wants to play a significant role in helping the growth of local independent restaurants during covid-19. That’s why we’re proud to launch Love Your Local to encourage customers to order from and support restaurants in their neighbourhood. Independent restaurants are at the heart of so many communities and they’re at the heart of Deliveroo. We’re constantly looking for new ways to support their success and make sure more people can order their amazing meals.”