Coronavirus: Redrow boss Steve Morgan in £1m charity pledge

Steve Morgan is the chairman and founder of Flintshire-based Redrow

The founder of the housebuilder Redrow has said he will donate £1m per week to charity in order to fight the "war on coronavirus".

Steve Morgan said his foundation will donate to charities in north Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire to help the most vulnerable members of society.

Mr Morgan said more than 50 charities have approached the foundation for financial help since the crisis began.

On Friday, a third Welsh patient died after contracting coronavirus.

Mr Morgan, who founded Redrow in 1974, said: "The £1m per week will go into a war chest because we are at war against coronavirus.

"People who know me know I don't like the limelight but now is not the time to hide in the shadows."

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"Normal day-to-day fundraising efforts that the charities undertake have been pulled from under them," he added.

"The London Marathon alone puts around £65m into the charitable sector.

"We've already had more than 50 of our supported charities approach us for desperately needed funding and we are only at the beginning of this crisis.

"One of our charities, in just one day, had 248 additional people register for their foodbank.

"As the economy shrinks it will be the charities and the vulnerable people who suffer first and we can't allow that to happen."

More than 140 patients in the UK have died after contracting the virus and more than 3,000 people have tested positive.

Major events such as the London Marathon, which has been cancelled, are big earners for charities