Forensic teams from Kent Police, in conjunction with specialists from the Serious Organised Crime Agency and experts from the Bank of England, raided the property in Laddingford near Yalding, but it is not clear how they came to learn what was happening at the site.

According to local newspaper reports, printing equipment producing £20 notes to a "very high quality" was discovered at Unit 4 on the Woodfalls Industrial Park at Gravelly Way Estate.

Two men have been arrested and are currently being interviewed by detectives in Maidstone. A house almost 30 miles away in Faversham was also being searched in connection with the counterfeiting raid, a Kent Police spokesman confirmed.

Detective inspector Eddie Fox said: "We believe that the equipment we are examining could be capable of producing millions of pounds worth of counterfeit currency. This type of crime can cause millions of pounds of damage to the economy, but can also have a devastating impact on individuals who are duped into accepting worthless notes."

In March, what was described as one of the largest fake money printing scams in the North of England was discovered in a house in Leeds.