Barcelona police shoot at man driving lorry loaded with butane gas tanks at high speed against traffic

Police have shot at a man who stole a lorry carrying butane gas cannisters and drove it at high speed the wrong way down a motorway in Barcelona.

Officers started chasing the vehicle after the driver failed to obey orders to stop after it started speeding erratically and dropping part of its load around 11am, police said.

During the chase that ensued, the driver took a turn near the Spanish city's famous harbour and drove against traffic and into a motorway exit where several cars were hit.

It finally stopped after crashing into a concrete barrier on the Ronda Litoral.

A recent terror plot involving gas cylinders in France and the use of lorries by Isis-inspired attackers in Nice and Berlin sparked initial fears of a new attack but the possibility was ruled out by investigators.

Juan Ignacio Zoido, Spain’s interior minister, tweeted that the detained driver had a history of mental illness, adding: “It was not a terrorist act.”

Spain’s department of national security also said terrorism had been ruled out as a motive.

“The perpetrator, of Swedish nationality and who did not carry any weapons, was arrested by agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana,” a spokesperson added.

The suspect, identified by local media as 32-year-old Joakim Robin Berggren, is being questioned at a regional hospital where he was sent for a medical assessment.

About half the butane bottles were flung from the stolen truck as the man sped against the flow of traffic while being closely pursued by police, the local police said at a press conference.

A Brazilian woman suffered a leg injury when she was hit by one of several butane cannisters.

“We are working on the possibility that it could be a person with psychological imbalances or who has consumed substances,” regional police chief Joan Carles Molinero said.

"At the moment, we have no indication whatsoever that he was planning a terrorist attack."

Spain has kept its national security alert to one step below maximum since July 2015, following a series of terror attacks in neighbouring France and across Europe.

Additional reporting by agencies