Former Olympics director to help ensure supplies get to vulnerable people during lockdown

The former commercial director for the London Olympics is leading efforts to ensure supplies get to vulnerable people during the coronavirus lockdown.

Chris Townsend has left a role as commercial director at Chelsea Football Club and volunteered three months of his time to lead the programme.

Around 250,000 boxes of food have been delivered by wholesalers to those at highest risk from the disease who have been advised to shield themselves from exposure to coronavirus by staying in strict isolation.

But around 1.5 million people have been advised to shield and the Government insisted that "hundreds of thousands" more food parcels would be delivered in the coming weeks.