Local government bosses have urged the public to use "reliable sources of information" after dismissing false reports of a confirmed coronavirus case linked to a nursery on Atherstone's borders.

Warwickshire County Council chief executive Monica Fogarty stepped in to quell social media meltdown following a Facebook posting on an alleged outbreak.

Coton, Hilltop & Caldwell Neighbourhood Watch Alerts were among many which shared a post claiming the Cheeky Monkeys Nursery in Galley Common had informed parents one of their children's siblings had the Covid-19 strain.

The post reported the pre-school establishment had said "a child who attends the nursery's brother or sister has contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus strain", adding: "It has not been confirmed where the actual case lives or goes to school, but there has been as yet no confirmed cases in Nuneaton or North Warwickshire."

And Nub News's #SaturdaySopabox joins the county council in its statement urging people across Atherstone and district and the wider Warwickshire community not to speculate about the outbreaks of the virus.

Ms Fogarty added: "If there is a confirmed case, it will only be on the Public Health England website so things like local Facebook and Twitter pages will not have an accurate picture and speculation is simply that."

The nursery, which maintains a private Facebook account, reportedly sent out a posting to its members which explained the action it had taken following receipt of a doctor's information stating a positive test for the strain.

The educational establishment went on to bemoan the fact the information had been shared on social media and added that those who had acted in this way struck fear and worry into the community for no reason.

According to the latest Department of Health figures, there are 12 people in the Midlands who have tested positive for the virus.

The latest number of confirmed cases has been put at 164 – 147 in England, 11 in Scotland, two in Wales and four in Northern Ireland.

A woman in her 70s died in a Berkshire hospital on Thursday and it has now been confirmed a man in his 80s is the second victim to die in the UK. Both had underlying health issues.

Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has said half of all coronavirus cases in the UK are most likely to occur in just a three-week period, with 95 per cent of them over a nine-week period while Dr Mike Ryan, from the World Health Organisation, said it was "a false hope" that coronavirus would disappear in the summer like flu.

Government ministers are next week expected to advise elderly people to visit relatives now before "social distancing" policies are introduced.