An NHS nurse broke down in tears as she pleaded with Britons not to stockpile goods after she was unable to buy food after her 48-hour shift.

Dawn Bilbrough, who works as a critical care nurse in York, made an emotional plea to shoppers who have begun buying more than they need amid growing fears of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.

"There's no fruit, there's no vegetables. I just don't know how I'm supposed to stay healthy," she said in a video posted on her Facebook.

She added: "You just need to stop it because it's people like me who are going to be looking after you when you're at your lowest, so just stop it, please."

NHS staff are among key workers the government has identified as essential to the coronavirus response.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has urged former NHS doctors and nurses to return to the profession.

More than 65,000 staff will be told that "the NHS needs you" as part of a recruitment drive to help tackle the "greatest global health threat" in a century.

Stores across the country have been stripped bare as people begin stockpiling goods. Credit: PA

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said those who had recently left the NHS would be able to rejoin immediately, while refresher courses would be put on to get others up to scratch.

He said: "From those I've talked to, I think people can see just how important this is. The training will happen for those who need it over the next couple of weeks, at the same time we'll allocate people to a hospital near them because there's a logistical exercise here as well."

The hours which NHS staff work means they have been left without basic goods, which have been stripped bare buy worried Britons.

Some supermarkets have begun offering NHS staff-only shopping times so they are able to get vital goods they need.

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