Photo: A sign tells passengers to 'wear a face covering' at Waterloo train station in central London , on June 8, 2020, as the UK government's planned 14-day quarantine for international arrivals to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 begins. /AFP

Britain's battered economy shrank by a record 20.4 percent in April from the previous month as the coronavirus lockdown ravaged activity, official data showed Friday.

The nation's gross domestic product contracted by more than a fifth in April, after logging a 5.8-percent contraction in March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

April was the first full month to reflect the impact of Britain's lockdown, which was aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 and was imposed on March 23.