Football anthem "You'll never walk alone" rang out from radios across around 30 European countries on Friday as DJs sent out a message of coronavirus solidarity.

The song, originally sung by Gerry and the Pacemakers but long adopted by Liverpool football club, was played by 180 European stations, said Dutch DJ Sander Hoogendoorn, who organised the idea.

"This is for everyone who's at home, everyone who's working so hard," Hoogendoorn, a DJ with the Dutch radio station 3FM, said at the start of the broadcast.

Broadcasters in other countries hailed the idea, including Britain's popular BBC Radio 1 station.

The virus has killed more than 5,000 people across Europe, at least half the global tally, while also bringing life to a halt in much of the continent, including football matches.