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The Co-op has partnered with Amazon Prime to allow customers to get their grocery shopping delivered by robots.

The service launched in Glasgow on Thursday, September 16, and is expected to be rolled out across the UK before the end of 2021.

The national supermarket chain is looking to expand online sales from £70m to £200m and has turned to Amazon Prime to try and make this possible, offering same-day deliveries on groceries.

Customers with Amazon Prime subscriptions will be able to shop for Co-op items on the Amazon website, with two-hour scheduled slots each day.

The number of robots delivering groceries is due to rise from 200 to 500 by the end of the year, as part of an additional step from the Amazon collection lockers which were installed outside some Co-op stores in 2012.

The autonomous vehicles are part of a partnership with Starship Technologies, with which the Co-op already deals with to deliver £70m a year of groceries, along with Deliveroo.

The rapid-fire delivery service will offer free deliveries for orders over £40, and a minimum shop of £15, though it is currently not available in Lincolnshire.

The Co-op has faced scrutiny after signing the deal, with many questioning the ethics of online giants Amazon, but say this partnership is about reaching more people quicker.

A spokesperson for the Co-op group said: “We aren’t compromising our ethics and principles and the extension of the partnership is about getting our ethically sourced products into the hands of more people.

“It reflects the support Co-op members have shown for Amazon’s products by using its lockers and click and collect services through hundreds of our stores for a number of years.

“We also see major opportunities in co-operating with one of the world’s biggest tech companies to tackle some of the big issues, from climate change to youth skills and opportunities.”

Co-op group chief executive Steve Murrells said: “The pandemic has accelerated changes in consumer shopping trends and we’re driving forward with exciting plans to provide rapid kerb to kitchen grocery delivery services.

“We are delighted to be working with Amazon. Its reach and leading technology and innovative approach means greater convenience for people in their communities.

“This, combined with our extended partnership with Starship Technologies, marks a significant milestone in our online strategy.”

The Nosey Parker pub in Lincoln loves creating a food challenge and The Lincolnite went to check out one of their latest – the Ultimate Chip Butty.

The Ultimate Chippy Butty is a whole loaf of bread, hollowed and filled with chips, cheese and lashings of gravy. The challenge, which is also suitable for vegetarians, is also served with two jugs of gravy for dipping.

The challenge, which was introduced at the Greene King pub off Tritton Road in August, is priced at £8.99. Should you be successful, unlike us, you get a certificate and your photo on the pub’s Wall of Flame.

Inside the Ultimate Chippy Butty. It’s bigger than it looks! | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Pouring on some extra gravy. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Lincolnite reporter Joseph Verney (left) staring at the challenge awaiting him, with the Nosey Parker’s Duty Manager Ronnie Byrne (right). | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

When the food arrived, I felt a sense of hope that maybe, if I finished my loaf, I could successfully complete the challenge, but it wasn’t to be. Maybe I just wasn’t bready enough.

After a fairly confident start, with the chips and cheese especially going down a treat, the bread really started to take its toll.

In some ways it may not look like too big a challenge, but to eat that much bread in one sitting proved an even bigger task than expected.

The Ultimate Chip Butty is priced at £8.99.| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Ronnie Byrne, Duty Manager at Nosey Parker, told The Lincolnite: “The new menu came out just over a month ago, and the new challenges have gone down a storm!

“The Ultimate Chip Butty has been one of our best sellers so far, no doubt.

“Everyone thinks it’ll be a walk in the park, but, like The Lincolnite, they’re quickly brought back down to earth! It’s basically a whole loaf of bread and a tonne of chips, cheese, and gravy.

“Anyone who can tackle that is braver than I, and the reporter, as we learned today!”

There have been 464 cases of coronavirus confirmed on Thursday in Lincolnshire, as the NHS begins delivering COVID booster jabs to the most vulnerable people.

Those who are eligible include:

• those living in residential care homes for older adults
• all adults aged 50 years or over
• frontline health and social care workers
• all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (as set out in the green book), and adult carers
• adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

Meanwhile, there have been 464 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday.

Government figures on Thursday showed 296 new cases in Lincolnshire, 75 in North East Lincolnshire and 93 in North Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire’s coronavirus cases up to September 16. | Image: GOV.uk

Three further deaths of Lincolnshire residents were also confirmed in the government figures.

NHS data showed no further deaths in Greater Lincolnshire’s hospitals on Thursday.

Nationally, cases increased by 26,911 to 7,339,009 while deaths rose by 158 to 134,805.

Vaccination data released on Thursday revealed that 1,108,065 doses of the jab had now been handed out in Lincolnshire.

There were 7,225 doses given out in the past week, 3,782 fewer doses than the previous week.

Of those, 532,625 were second jabs – a total of 84% of the total 634,453 population of Lincolnshire.

A total of 562,809 people over the aged of 18, and 12,631 under 18s have received their first dose, while 530,265 over 18s and 2,360 under 18s were double-dosed.

In North East Lincolnshire a total of 213,647 doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 101,960 (79%) being second doses.

In North Lincolnshire, 239,650 doses have been handed out, with 115,174 (82%) being double-jabbed.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, September 16

106,415 cases (up 464)

• 69,906 in Lincolnshire (up 296)
• 16,618 in North Lincolnshire (up 93)
• 19,891 in North East Lincolnshire (up 75)

2,3111 deaths (up three)

• 1,691 from Lincolnshire (up three)
• 316 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 304 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 1,386 hospital deaths (no change)

• 849 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 44 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 492 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF THE LATEST UPDATE. POSTCODE DATA INCLUDES DEATHS NOT IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OR IN HOSPITALS OUTSIDE AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES.