Two brothers are stuck with 17,700 bottles of hand sanitiser they bought to sell during the coronavirus outbreak.

Matt and Noah Colvin of Hixson, Tenneseee, drove thousands of miles to pick up as many bottles of the handwash as they could after the first death was recorded in the US, earlier this year – spending between $10,000 (£8,000) and $15,000 (£11,500) on their haul.

They had hoped to flog the $1 (80p) bottles for an inflated price of $70 (£54) each, with people panicking over the spreading disease.

However, after Amazon put a block on accounts trying to make money from the crisis, the pair were left with thousands of bottles, unable to sell them.

Speaking to WRCB, Matt said: “The bulk of it was purchased just driving around to retail stores in the Chattanooga area.

“The pricing on Amazon was definitely higher than retail.”

But when asked whether he would apologise for buying so much sanitiser after seeing families struggling to buy just one, he said: “No, I don’t think I would.”

He added: “With business, there’s wins and there’s losses, and this is a situation where cutting my losses is the right thing to do.”

The dad had previously spoken to The New York Times about his failed venture.

He told the publication he sold two-pack sets for $20 (£16), and admitted he had charged as much as $125 (£100) for a ten-pack.

Matt said the cost of delivering the items, as well as the cut taken by Amazon, ate into his profits.

He said: “Just because it cost me $2 in the store doesn’t mean it’s not going to cost me $16 to get it to your door.”

The entrepreneur said he was simply correcting ‘inefficiencies in the marketplace’.

Adding: “There’s a crushing overwhelming demand in certain cities right now.

“I honestly feel like it’s a public service. I’m being paid for my public service.”

But after Amazon put an end to his scheme, Matt said he would have settled for a slight return on his investment.

He told the newspaper: “If I can make a slight profit, that’s fine. But I’m not looking to be in a situation where I make the front page of the news for being that guy who hoarded 20,000 bottles of sanitiser that I’m selling for 20 times what they cost me.”

However, after receiving a backlash from people online, he has now claimed he will donate what’s left.