Police in Australia seized 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine – or ice - worth more than £570 million in a record haul that arrived by boat, allegedly from China.

Eight men were charged following the seizure of the drugs at a marina in Geraldton, a port town on the west coast. The drugs were enough to supply the entire country’s methamphetamine habit for two months.

"This is a billion-dollar bust," said Peter Dutton, the Minister for Home Affairs.

"We're very pleased that [more than] 12 million hits of methamphetamine will be off the streets… There are kids in Australia who will have their lives saved because of the impact that the police have had in the detection of these drugs."

The drugs, contained in about 60 bags, were believed to have originated in China and were intended to be taken to the populous east coast.