MORRISONS is rolling out its same-day online grocery delivery service with Amazon to at least five more cities across the UK.

The Bradford-based chain said it will expand Morrisons at Amazon to cities including Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth over 2019.

The initiative will be rolled out to more cities with Bradford believed to be on the list.

Customers can order a full Morrisons shop online, which is then picked at a local store, and delivered by Amazon. The option for delivery within one hour of the order being placed is available for many customers across the covered cities.

The service, which was launched more than three years ago, is already available to Amazon's Prime Now customers in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and parts of London.

Morrisons said it will be extended further across the UK in future years.

The group is also becoming a retailer with Amazon's Prime website and app, and will begin selling directly to customers, through Morrisons at Amazon.

But Morrisons will continue as a wholesaler for all Amazon's other UK grocery offers for customers.

David Potts, chief executive at Morrisons, said: "Morrisons' conveniently located local supermarkets and Amazon's very popular website and customer offer are an ideal combination, offering ultra-fast same-day grocery home delivery for customers in and around cities across Britain.

“Amazon has been a valued partner of Morrisons for over three years, and we are pleased to be expanding our relationship together. Continuing to partner with the best digital operators such as Amazon is a significant, capital light growth opportunity for Morrisons.”

The news comes after Morrisons last month loosened its agreement with Ocado following a catastrophic fire at the online grocer's Andover facility in February.

As well as changes to its warehouse agreements, the exclusivity of the deal with Ocado was also relaxed, potentially allowing Morrisons to agree a new partnership with another digital player.

Under the previous Ocado deal, Morrisons had been prevented from expanding its Amazon venture further.

Doug Gurr, Amazon UK country manager, said: “We have greatly valued our relationship with Morrisons since the launch of the Morrisons store on Prime Now in the UK in 2016 and expanding this relationship enables us to offer Morrisons high quality grocery selection to even more Prime members.

“We are committed to growing our grocery business so that we can continue to deliver what we know our customers will always care about – low prices, vast selection, and fast delivery – and our relationship with Morrisons is an important part of that long-term growth. With the Morrisons store on Prime Now, many Prime members can do their full weekly grocery shop online through Prime Now with ultra-fast same day delivery."