THE UK's coronavirus death toll has skyrocketed by 56 bringing the total fatalities to 233 in the worst 24 hours the country has seen yet.

The total deaths in England rose by 53 as a 41-year-old is thought to be the youngest victim in Britain since the outbreak began. The total number of confirmed cases in the UK has hit 5,018.

All new victims in England had underlying health conditions and the eldest was 94.

The rise comes as the government scolded 'shameful' panic-buyers and pleaded with the frenzied shoppers to consider more vulnerable people before emptying the nation's supermarkets.

Environment Secretary George Eustice told people to 'calm down' and claimed there is 'more than enough food to go around'.

But he said that many Britons, including frontline NHS staff, were being deprived because of a sharp upswing in stockpiling.

Speaking at the latest daily press briefing from Downing Street yesterday afternoon, he said: "We recognise that this is a challenging time and there are many things the government is asking the nation to do differently as we work together to fight this pandemic.

"Be responsible when you shop and think of others. Buying more than you need means others may be left without."

Mr Eustice was flanked by British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson and NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis, who condemned the selfishness and said: "Frankly we should all be ashamed".

The health chief made his admonishment as he pointed to a viral video of female health worker Dawn Bilbrough, 51, who broke down in tears after faced with rows of bare shelves following an exhausting shift.

Ms Dickinson laid bare the sheer tonnage of food which has flown off the shelves in recent weeks when she revealed: "There is a billion pounds more food in people's houses than there was three weeks ago, so we should make sure we eat some of it."

The government's call to exercise restraint came as hordes of shoppers descended on supermarkets at the crack of dawn this morning in a desperate bid to stock up after weeks of coronavirus panic-buying cleared food aisles across the country.

The first Number 10 press conference without Boris Johnson, who has taken the reins on the government's response to the outbreak, came as the infection rate surpassed 4,000 and the death toll hit 180.

Previous pleas from the government and retailers to steer clear of panic-buying has largely fallen on deaf ears.

Individual stores have already taken action to curb the number of products people could buy, while police and private security were even drafted in to stamp out ransacking of high-demand items such as toilet roll.

But still heartbreaking scenes of elderly people and exhausted frontline NHS staff standing helplessly beside empty shelves have continued to flood social media.

This prompted chains including Sainsbury's and M&S to set aside a golden hour where they can buy essentials before the masses stampede the store.