A 57-year-old lorry driver has been detained after loads of potatoes was found spilled on a key bridge linking two Danish islands, police have said.

The motorist was held on suspicion of causing reckless endangerment to life.

A first spill was reported on the westbound side of the Storebaelt bridge at 6.35am (4.35am GMT), police spokesman Kenneth Taanquist said.

The bridge connects the island where the capital, Copenhagen, is located to the rest of Denmark.

A similar incident happened on the eastbound side a short time later, Mr Tanquist added.

“It looks weird,” he said.

“We are working on two hypotheses: it is either an accident or it is something that has been done deliberately.”

Police said the roads had become slippery and urged drivers to drive slowly.

According to the Danish Road Directorate, queues of vehicles were reported on either side of the roughly 11-mile bridge and tunnel link between the islands of Funen, where Odense — Denmark’s third largest city — is located, and Zealand, where Copenhagen is.

A third incident of potatoes on the road was reported near the town of Kolding on the Jutland peninsula.

Kolding is near the Storebaelt bridge.

Danish public broadcaster DR said the potato spills happened on the same day as the Danish parliament passed a law to tax diesel trucks transporting heavy loads.

The new measure has drawn protests from lorry drivers.

In recent weeks, they have peacefully blocked motorways and main roads throughout the country, claiming the tax will make their livelihoods unsustainable.

A majority in the Danish parliament argue it is vital as the continued use of petrol and diesel-fuelled trucks is environmentally unsustainable.

As of 2025, the drivers of petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles over 3.15 tonnes will be taxed 1.3 kroner (9p) per kilometre.