UK retail sales dived by a record 18.1 percent in April with the country in coronavirus lockdown, triggering a surge in government borrowing to an unprecedented level, data shows. Government net borrowing hit a record £62.1 billion ($74.5 billion, 68.3 billion euros) last month, a colossal increase on the £10.9-billion amount one year earlier, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. It comes as the state offers unprecedented financial support to businesses, including paying up to 80 percent of workers' wages. FILE IMAGES of closed shops and businesses during the lockdown