Stephen Merchant has used his height to demonstrate social distancing guidelines by lying down on the pavement to show people how much space they need to be leaving each other.

In a jokey video posted to his Instagram followers the co-creator of The Office said that because he is around two metres tall people should use his frame as a guide for how close they should be getting to people in public.

He said in his post that he is sharing “vital social distancing advice”.

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Some vital social distancing advice

A post shared by Stephen Merchant (@stephenmerchant) on

Merchant added: “Hey guys, so here in the UK we are only allowed to do one bit of exercise a day.

“I’m out and about and I’m noticing a lot of people aren’t keeping the mandated two metre distance between themselves and me or themselves and other pedestrians and I think it is because a lot of people don’t realise just how far two metres is.”

The Government is currently advising people to keep two metres away from each other in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant gave some social distancing advice (Ian West/PA)

Merchant added: “Now I’m about two metres in height so here I am in a typical north London street and you can see there just how much two metres is.

“Stephen Merchant’s head in the gutter and Stephen Merchant’s feet touching the wall.

“So try and keep at least one Stephen Merchant between you and other people and you will be able to stay healthy and stay safe.”