Millions of pieces of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) are being shipped from British warehouses to Germany, Spain and Italy despite severe shortages in the UK, The Telegraph can disclose.

Lorries are being packed with masks, respirators and other PPE kit before heading to supply hospitals in the EU, it has emerged.

On Monday night, UK firms said they had "no choice" but to keep selling the lifesaving gear abroad because their offers of help had been repeatedly ignored by the British Government.

It comes as the Government faces growing criticism over the PPE crisis, with hospitals close to running out of critical equipment and doctors forced to choose between exposing themselves to the virus or "letting a patient die on their watch".

On Sunday, 12 million pieces of PPE were delivered to the healthcare sector, down from 33 million less than a fortnight ago.

Ministers have insisted that the shortage of PPE has been caused by global supply issues as nations scramble to source reusable gear from factories in China. Former London Olympics chief Lord Deighton has been brought in to boost PPE production in the UK, and a shipment of 140,000 gowns arrived from Myanmar on Monday.