BARCELONA cops shot at and arrested the driver of a truck packed with gas cylinders speeding towards the city centre after a dramatic chase.

The truck, reportedly carrying highly-flammable butane cylinders, is said to have rammed several cars as it sped the wrong way down a main road in the Spanish city.

8 The truck was pulled over by cops on a busy route heading into Barcelona

8 It is believed the driver, who was shot at by cops, was arrested at the scene

8 A bullet-hole could be seen in the truck as officers inspected it Credit: Reuters

Nobody is believed to have been injured by gunshots but the driver, whose motivations are unknown, has been arrested.

Several local news outlets including Lavanguardia and Elperiodico report that the man arrested is 32-year-old Joakim Robin Berggren, a Swedish citizen.

Officials say the arrested man has a history of mental illness, and ruled out that it is a terrorist act.

Eyewitnesses told local media outlet Beteve the driver was "laughing like a maniac" during the two-mile chase along the Ronda del Litoral.

Others told La Vanguardia he was a "young boy" with a shaved head and long sideburns and was wearing a military green bomber jacket.

Armed police - said to be carrying machine guns - reportedly shot at the vehicle seven times before it came to a halt, with three officers detaining the driver as he fled the cabin.

Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido tweeted earlier: "The driver of the stolen butane truck in Barcelona detained has a psychiatric history. It was not a terrorist act."

Three people - including a policeman who had to jump out of the way of the vehicle - were injured in the chase, which lasted around 10 minutes.

The other two were hit by butane cylinders thrown from the back of the truck, reports elperiodico.

8 The truck was stopped going the wrong way down a busy road in Barcelona Credit: @uklanor

A police spokesman told AFP: "We detained a person who was of Swedish nationality."

Lavanguardia cites sources who claim the driver could have acted under the influence of "psychotropic drugs".

Related stories Exclusive RESERVOIR THUGS Gangland shooting victim jets back to UK surrounded by heavies after fleeing pram-pushing hitman who ambushed him outside his daughter's primary school THE SPY WHO LOVED ME Brit soldiers warned of Russian honeytraps during Estonia deployment PAEDO'S MURDER PLOT Polygamist accused of sending his wives dressed as NINJAS to kill girl, 14, he sexually abused SLAUGHTERED ON FACEBOOK Two-year-old boy and man, 26, shot dead and pregnant woman hit in horror shooting on Facebook Live

Elperiodico reported the truck was stolen from a shipyard and driven the wrong way down a road, ramming several vehicles before it was pulled over by police.

Lavanguardia says an officer shot at the vehicle's rear window, causing it to stop.

However pictures have emerged showing a bullet hole in the front windscreen of the vehicle.

Officers from Barcelona's police force the Guardia Urbana and Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalonian police, pursued the truck in cars and on motorbikes, reportedly dodging gas canisters as they tumbled off the back.

8 The white vehicle was packed with dozens of orange butane gas cylinders Credit: EPA

8 Police reportedly shot at the vehicle before it stopped after allegedly being stolen Credit: @linformatiu_tve

8 Officials were investigating the inside of the truck after the chase at around 11am today Credit: Reuters

8 The bullet hole could clearly be seen in the windscreen, but police are believed to have shot at the vehicle from behind Credit: Reuters

Mireia Ruiz, a woman who saw the truck from her home nearby, said the driver ignored people screaming at him to stop as he sped down the wrong side of a ring road.

She told AFP: "When people shouted at him, he would laugh and make offensive gestures with his hand."

Some media outlets had earlier reported that the driver had been killed, but police said this is not the case.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368