The buddies who send recovery parcels for support

Strangers with long-term mental and physical illnesses are being paired up and encouraged to send gifts to one another to stop them feeling so lonely.

The Instagram group, Recovery Buddy Parcels, matches people with a 'buddy' who has a similar condition to them and who lives near them - people they may not have met otherwise.

This video has been optimised for mobile viewing on the BBC News app. The BBC News app is available from the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android.