A major clean-up operation was launched yesterday after hundreds of phials of military anthrax vaccine were washed up on the Westcountry's shores.

A beach at West Bay, near Bridport in Dorset, was closed after the local assistant harbourmaster discovered boxes of the vaccine, and also tubes of a liquid used to treat uranium poisoning.

While firefighters picked up the scattered phials and bottles of drugs, it emerged that the medication had originally been supplied to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

But an MoD spokesman stressed that the vaccine did not contain live anthrax and posed no risk to the public, adding: "It is not MoD policy to dispose of medical supplies overboard."

It is believed the anthrax vaccine washed up on West Bay's beach may have come from one of the Royal Navy warships recently deployed to the Gulf.

The MoD spokesman, however, said: "We cannot confirm or deny any connection between the ampoules that washed up on the beach and recent military deployment.

"An investigation is under way - the vaccines are given batch numbers to ensure that if there is a problem, they can be tracked."

The washed-up drugs were found along a two-mile stretch of the Dorset coast yesterday. This follows the discovery of anthrax vaccine phials ashore near Charmouth on Sunday.

All the recovered medication will be destroyed, with the anthrax vaccine being sent to Porton Down in Wiltshire.