More than half a million meals bought in Suffolk as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out scheme

Restaurant-goers in Suffolk enjoyed more than half a million meals through the Eat Out to Help Out scheme last month.

Government figures show that more than 100 million meals were bought in the UK as part of the scheme, which was launched to help protect jobs and support the hospitality industry following coronavirus lockdown.

The scheme saw restaurants half their customers' bills every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in August - with a cap of £10 off per person. The Government then reimbursed the eateries for the other half of the bill.

Those in the Suffolk Coastal constituency, which includes Felixstowe and Woodbridge , made the best use of the scheme, with 143 restaurants taking 161,000 orders and claiming back £881,000.

The scheme was also very popular with diners in Ipswich , where 106 restaurants provided 102,000 meals and claimed back £450,000.

In Bury St Edmunds , 121 restaurants offered the discount, with 80,000 orders taken and £451,000 claimed.

In Waveney, which includes Lowestoft and Beccles , 90 restaurants signed up to the scheme. In total, 79,000 meals were provided with £441,000 claimed back.

South Suffolk and the Sudbury area wasn't far behind on the meal count, with 99 restaurants having taken 78,000 orders and claimed £468,000.

West Suffolk, which includes Newmarket , Mildenhall and Haverhill , had the highest average discount per meal - which was £6.38.

The constituency saw 84 restaurants take 49,000 orders and claim back £316,000.

In the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency, of which Kesgrave is part, only 65 restaurants took part in Eat Out to Help Out. Despite this, 53,000 meals were provided and £310,000 claimed back.

In Suffolk, where 593,000 meals were bought in total, the average discount per meal was £5.62.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week thanked the nation for their help in protecting the jobs of 1.8million people and driving the country's economic recovery.

“From the get-go our mission has been to protect jobs and to do this we needed be creative, brave and try things that no government has ever done before," he said.

“Today’s figures continue to show Eat Out to Help Out has been a success. I want to thank everyone, from restaurant owners to waiters, chefs and diners, for embracing it and helping drive our economic recovery.

“The scheme is just one part of our Plan for Jobs and we will continue to protect, support and create jobs to ensure we come back stronger as a nation.”

Head to our business page for all of the latest news about businesses in Suffolk

Read more: All the latest news from Suffolk