Food delivery companies have agreed to work with Greater Manchester Police and Transport for Greater Manchester on a new set of agreed standards to improve the safety of food deliveries, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has said.

The Mayor met with senior representatives from three major food delivery companies - Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat - and called for a new code of practice which would apply across the city-region.

Over recent months, residents have raised concerns with the Mayor relating to food deliveries by cyclists.

These include: couriers riding at excessive speeds; riding on pavements and failing to observe traffic signals; and failure to use lights at night or wear reflective clothing.

At the meeting, concerns were also raised at the difficulty of reporting issues or incidents and identifying those involved.

Greater Manchester Police reported to the meeting that there had been a number of incidents this year involving pedestrians and delivery riders, including at least one serious.

The announcement also comes during National Road Safety Week, which sees agencies across Greater Manchester carrying out events and campaigns to help raise awareness of road safety and reduce incidents.

In London, a ‘road safety charter’ has been jointly developed by Transport for London and delivery companies. Greater Manchester will now look to develop its own version of the same and seek to raise safety standards for both the public and the riders themselves.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: "We know delivery riders do a difficult job in all weathers and we all benefit from their services. But we also know that there is growing public concern about the safety of food deliveries, particularly by those using bikes.

“We believe it is essential that the food delivery companies ensure that operations carried out on their behalf always fully adhere to the Highway Code. There are more measures that can and should be taken to improve the safety of pedestrians and riders alike and we look to the delivery companies to help us set them out in a new code.

“If we cannot make sufficient progress through the new working group, we will consider what more can be done to strengthen enforcement. Public safety must always come first."