TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has branded Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan a "bastard" and "scum" in a Twitter row over the coronavirus outbreak.

Location, Location, Location host Allsopp has defended her decision to move her family to her main home in Devon earlier this week as the government introduced new measures limiting travel and social interaction.

"During this time of national crisis many families have had difficult choices to make, in a rush, with minion info," Allsopp wrote on Twitter in response to criticism of her deciding to isolate in Devon. "But we did what we thought was most sensible, and we did not break any rules or regulations that existed at that time."

Morgan retweeted Allsopp's message and added the comment: "Kirstie, you're rich, privileged & isolating in a lavish country home with your family. Maybe stop making this crisis about your struggle with trolls & direct your energy into rallying support for NHS workers risking their lives for us all in very dangerous circumstances?"

A furious Allsopp quickly responded: "You total BASTARD there was NO need to Retweet that to your millions of followers, it was totally unnecessary and unkind thing to do. You're no better than the scum on @DailyMirror & @OK_Magazine you are all using this entire crisis to further your careers & sell newspapers."

Almost half a million people around the globe have now tested positive for the coronavirus disease, with over 22,000 losing their lives, including 465 in the UK.