A father who lost his job due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines was able to sustain his family by selling anime portraits that he painted on plates.

Edwin Dela Vega, 42, was among the millions of Filipinos left unemployed by the pandemic. He used to work as a private driver until Covid restrictions in the capital Manila forced nearly everyone to work from home.

With two children still depending on him, Edwin thought to use his talents to earn money.

He said: 'I was very frustrated when I lost my job, as I didn't have any money to support my two children. So I decided to use my talents, using our old plates and painting them with my favourite anime.'

Footage shows Edwin painting pictures of 'Bioman' characters onto their plates in Tanay, Rizal, the Philippines.

Edwin uses acrylic paint and lacquer to create the portraits, which each take four to five hours of work.

He said: 'By doing this, we were able to pay for our daily expenses until now.'