'Toxic waste' returned to Britain

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Seventy-one of a total of 89 multi-coloured containers arrived at the port of Felixstowe on Friday morning on board the cargo ship MSC Serena, with the rest due to return later.

Some of them contain clinical waste including syringes and condoms, according to the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Resources (IBAMA).

But it will be a week before Environment Agency investigators can examine the contents themselves as it has to be fumigated first.

The head of the agency's National Environmental Crime Unit, Andrew Higham, was at the dockside to meet the shipment. He said: "According to our colleagues in Brazil the waste had been exported under the guise of recyclable plastic, and from what we are told, contained hazardous and toxic waste.

"Three people have already been arrested in connection with this, and it is an ongoing investigation.

"The agency obviously takes this very seriously. Unfortunately waste does get exported from this country but we are taking proactive steps to get ahead of the game."

Earlier this month officers from the Environment Agency's National Environmental Crime Team, with Wiltshire Police, raided premises in Swindon. They arrested three men, aged 49, 28 and 24, in connection with the inquiry into the alleged illegal shipment of waste to Brazil.

The Environment Agency said once evidence has been gathered, it will ensure the waste is safely dealt with by an appointed contractor.

It said the shipping lines contracted to transport the containers from the UK to Brazil agreed to bring the containers back to the UK at their own expense.