Deliveroo and Uber Eats halt service in several areas as Storm Eunice hits the UK

Deliveroo has said it’s looking after drivers’ safety as operations pause in London and the South West

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Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat won’t be available for the worst-affected areas hit by Storm Eunice today.

The storm, which is battering parts of Wales and England with winds up to 90mph, has caused the Met Office to issue two rare red weather warnings.

Now, Deliveroo has confirmed that its operations would cease for today, 18 December, in the worst-hit areas.

“In the interest of keeping riders safe, Deliveroo’s service is not available in London and the South East or Wales and areas of the South West at the moment due to the red weather warning and adverse conditions,” a Deliveroo spokesperson said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with our partners and riders to let them know when we plan to reopen these areas.”

Users of the Uber Eats app are being met with a notice saying the delivery service is “currently unavailable due to a weather alert” when they log on.

A spokesperson for Uber Eats said: “Due to the severe weather conditions we have temporarily paused the Uber Eats app in locations where a Red weather warning is in place. Our local teams are closely monitoring the situation and we hope to resume services as soon as it is safe to do so.”

A Just Eat spokesperson has also confirmed that the food delivery service won’t be available in areas with read weather warnings. They said: “Courier safety is our number one priority and we have suspended our delivery services in all areas with red weather warnings. We are continuously monitoring the situation and will restart deliveries once it is safe to do so.”

Social media users have praised the move by the delivery services, with one user pointing out that if you wouldn’t go out in today’s storm, then it’s “unethical” to suggest a delivery driver should.

Another user said: “I am glad Deliveroo have cancelled any orders today due to the storm, so the delivery guys don’t have to work through it.”

A third added: “Giving props to @Deliveroo for keeping riders safe.”