A family in Thailand cooks 1,000 meals a day to give to locals who are struggling with the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Sayakarn Pongpattaratham said that it was her and her daughter's idea to help their neighbours in Uthai Thani, central Thailand.

Footage from this morning (April 13) shows members of Sayakarn's family cooking fried pork and rice before putting them in boxes to feed hungry locals.

Sayakarn said she wanted to support residents who have followed government orders to stay at home - even though it was caused them to lose income.

She said: "Many people have been badly affected by the government order to close their shops and to stay home. Even though they lose money, they still follow the rules.

"I appreciated everybody's effort so I wanted to support them during this hard time. We must help each other to survive the situation."

Sayakarn added that the food was also available for the police officers who are manning coronavirus checkpoints around the province.

"Food is available in front of our house so people can drop by and get them. We also send them to the police at the checkpoints,'' Sayakarn added.

"We plan to do this as long as we can or until the situation becomes better."

Since the recording began, Thailand has declared 2,579 coronavirus cases and 40 deaths. The country has enforced strict measures to combat the pandemic including the banning of passenger flights, curfews, travel bans and alcohol prohibition.