More than 50,000 people across Scotland have signed up to offer help during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Scottish Government launched its Scotland Cares volunteer recruitment campaign on Monday.

The number of people registering to volunteer topped 21,000 on the first day.

As of 8.30am on Saturday, the number of people signing up was 50,330.

Social Security and Older People Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "The response to the Scotland Cares campaign has been outstanding and I want to thank each and every person who has signed up to volunteer during the coronavirus outbreak.

"Your support at this critical time is invaluable and will make a huge difference over the coming weeks and months."

She added: "While the most important ask for the public is to stay at home and follow the essential public health guidance, people who are healthy and not at risk can volunteer to provide practical or emotional help to those most in need.

"Those who can and want to volunteer can find information about how to help on the Ready Scotland website."

For more information, visit www.readyscotland.org/coronavirus/volunteering.

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: http://www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.