Three arrests have been made after dozens of barrels of lethal chemicals were allegedly illegally dumped in north Shropshire, the Environment Agency said today.

It follows a string of early morning raids by police and agency officials investigating how a cocktail of dangerous chemicals was discovered in the back of a lorry found in Hodnet earlier this year.

Investigators swooped at nine sites around the country and arrests were made in Lancashire, County Durham and Merseyside yesterday.

Besides the dozens of barrels of “hazardous” chemicals allegedly found dumped in the back of a lorry parked in a lay-by on the A53 near Hodnet in May, the raids were also connected to illegal dumping in remote areas of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The discovery of the chemicals in Shropshire sparked a full-scale eco-alert with officials closing the A53 and firefighters, wearing special protective suits, entering the lorry to examine the contents.

While the chemicals were found in the back of an abandoned Tesco lorry, records showed the supermarket giant had sold it to a third party long before the discovery of the chemicals.

The raids came after a six-month investigation into the discovery of three lorry trailers filled with a total of 96 drums containing chemicals including acids and solvents.

Properties and offices at the nine sites, which include six between Preston, Leyland, Tarleton and Skelmersdale, in Lancashire, two in Hartlepool and one in Moreton, Wirral, Merseyside, were being searched.

Three men, aged 37, 41 and 48, were detained on suspicion of committing environmental offences, the Environment Agency said.