Diners in North Shropshire claimed almost half a million pounds worth of free food during the recent Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

New figures released by the Government in the wake of the scheme coming to an end show that in the North Shropshire constituency, 101,000 meals were claimed during the duration of the scheme, which was aimed at supporting the restaurant industry.

These had a total value of £494,000, with an average discount per meal of £4.90 across the 123 participating restaurants – although the figures do not include chain restaurants with more than 25 outlets, to which a postcode can't be allocated.

Across England, 52.3 million meals were claimed with a total value of £295.8 million, while in Wales 2.3 million meals were claimed with a total value of just over £13 million, while.

But when including chain outlets, Britons ate more than 100 million meals last month as part of the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme.

The final day of the scheme, Monday August 31, saw a 216% jump in bookings compared to the equivalent day in 2019, according to initial data from OpenTable.

By the end of Monday, 130,000 claims were made by 84,700 restaurants signed up to the programme, with claims costing around £522 million.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak hailed the programme as a "success".

Whitchurch Herald:

He said: "From the get-go our mission has been to protect jobs, and to do this we needed to be creative, brave and try things that no government has ever done before.

"I want to thank everyone, from restaurant owners to waiters, chefs and diners, for embracing it and helping drive our economic recovery.

"The scheme is just one part of our plan for jobs and we will continue to protect, support and create jobs to ensure we come back stronger as a nation."

Some restaurants chains, such as Pizza Hut and Bill's, have said they will finance similar offers this month following the jump in demand after the Treasury said it would not extend the scheme.

The scheme came to an end at the end of August, but some restaurants have continued to offer discounts on their meals in order to continue to benefit from the increased custom.