Shane Warne's gin company have immediately halted producing the spirit so they can instead provide hospitals with hand sanitiser to support the fight against coronavirus.

SevenZeroEight Gin (named after the number of Test wickets Warne took for Australia) announced that they would “solely produce hand sanitiser”.

That came after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked companies to “make a wartime shift to produce medical supplies due to shortages and disruptions in overseas supply chains”.

Australia has 709 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Thursday.

Last year Warne founded the gin, which claims to be low in alcohol and calories, with a pair of West Australian doctors and the company says “an agreement has been made to provide a continuous supply to two nominated Western Australia hospitals at cost".

Warne said: “This is a challenging time for Australians and we all need to do what we can to help our healthcare system combat this disease and save lives.

"I am happy SevenZeroEight has the ability to make this shift and encourage others to do the same.”