Lidl hand sanitiser worth 50p selling for £40 on eBay as coronavirus panic buying fears spread

UNSCRUPULOUS eBay users are taking advantage of the shortage of hand sanitising gel by selling tiny bottles for almost 30 times more than they cost in shops.

There are almost 9,000 hits for hand sanitiser on the auction site - and many are being sold at highly inflated prices as people try to stock up to protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak.

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We found four , which can be bought in Lidl for 49p, listed for £39.99.

Meanwhile, another seller had three 50ml bottles of .

A similar 50ml Dettol product costs £1.80 in Superdrug and Boots.

And a 30ml bottle of was listed for £40.

It can be bought for around £1.39 at online chemists.

A four pack of a larger was being listed at £99.99, even though a single bottle can be bought for £2 in Boots.

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A number of retailers have warned of shortages of antibacterial products, such as hand gels, soups and wipes, as people try to protect themselves from illness.

According to the latest data from research company Kantar, which tracks what people in the UK buy in supermarkets, hand sanitiser sales were up 255 per cent in February.

Other kinds of liquid soaps saw sales increase by 7 per cent, and 10 per cent more was spent on household cleaners.

The official advice from health experts is to continue to wash your hands regularly with soap, but if you can’t get to a sink, hand sanitising gel can provide some protection.

Hand sanitisers with more than 60 per cent alcohol content are most effective at killing microbes, and therefore are the best defence against illness.

Supermarkets have devised a plan to ration food and supplies as the virus sparks panic buying and stockpiling in the UK.

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