As Caloosahatchee, the first ship of an ageing armada of contaminated US navy vessels, was towed into port, it was greeted by a volley of jeers, flour and water bombs and bared bottoms by protesters on a pier.

Dubbed the "ghost fleet" and containing tons of hazardous waste, they were rusting away in James river, Virginia, until Able UK, which owns a breakers' yard in Hartlepool, won a £10.6 million contract to dispose of the pollutants and recycle the steel, creating 200 jobs.

The first two vessels set sail across the Atlantic on Oct 6, with two more leaving eight days later. A further nine ships were detained in the US by legal action.

They departed at the end of summer to take advantage of the "weather window" but a storm of controversy was brewing at their destination.

The Environment Agency withdrew its permission for the work, prompting the Government belatedly to become involved when Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, said the ships could only be stored in Hartlepool and must return to the US for dismantling next year. A legal battle looms next month, yet despite the furore, the ships have sailed on. The second vessel, Canisteo, is due to arrive today.

Michael Turner, councillor for Seaton Carew, an attractive village on the southern side of Hartlepool which includes Able UK's dockyard, resigned from the Labour group last month in protest about the unwillingness of Hartlepool Borough Council to reject the ships unconditionally. "It's a straightforward common sense thing. I am absolutely certain that the world's richest country can deal with this themselves," said Cllr Turner, 50.

"I have a duty as our councillor to respond to people who don't want Seaton to get the reputation as a dumping ground for toxic waste. There might be 200 jobs but there is only one environment."

The first two ships, both oil tankers built in 1945, were towed across the Atlantic by ITC, a Dutch towage company. Between them they contain asbestos in their engine rooms, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in rubber seals, gaskets and electrical wiring and oil.

Able UK intends to remove the waste in a sealed air-tight environment, with workers in protective suits double-bagging the asbestos and dumping it, with the carcinogenic PCBs, in a nearby landfill site below layers of soil and clay.

Environmentalists fear that the chemicals will leach into the soil, polluting two Sites of Special Scientific Interest and a national nature reserve. The latter is one of the most important sites for migrating wading birds in Europe, including the redshank, knot, shelduck and yellowlegs, a less controversial American visitor, and is also popular with seals.

Geoff Lilley, a local member of Friends of the Earth and the RSPB, said: "The fact that the heavy oils and other toxins could easily leak into the mudflats and affect birdlife and seals is a risk too high." The town was united in its opposition. "The important thing is that it's not tree huggers who are up in arms, it's grandmothers and mothers who haven't protested before," said Mr Lilley, 53.

The council is trying to steer a difficult course between environmental concerns and an opportunity to create jobs and wealth. Paul Walker, the council's chief executive, said: "The council's overall position is that we welome jobs to Hartlepool. They are much needed here, but not any cost."

Friends of the Earth yesterday demanded an inquiry into events surrounding the ships's controversial journey.

Although permission appeared to be in place when the four vessels set sail, the agency withdrew this two weeks ago when the local authority said Able UK's planning permission for a dry dock had lapsed, a dispute that will be settled in the High Court next month.

The agency has said it will carry out regular inspections to ensure that the ships are not broken up during their time on Teesside.

But Peter Dodson, a spokesman for Able UK, said it was still expecting the vessels to be dismantled in Hartlepool. "We are confident that we have all the relevant permission in place and this will be vindicated in the High Court."

Article Link: Town Unites to Repel Invasion by Toxic Armada