A HIGH Court judge has condemned the way four redundant US navy ships were allowed to cross the Atlantic Ocean to be broken up in the North-East on the basis of legally flawed decisions.

Mr Justice Sullivan called for an "urgent and thorough" investigation into the saga which has resulted in the ageing vessels languishing in a Hartlepool dockyard.

He also urged that ''all necessary steps" be taken to resolve the controversy in a way which was "lawful and seen to be environmentally acceptable".

The judge was yesterday giving his reasons for allowing a legal challenge by three residents - Neil Gregan, 25, Stephen Hall, 43, and Ben Marley, 18, all from Hartlepool - who argued that there was no valid planning permission allowing the ships to be dismantled by Able UK.

Last week, the judge also ruled that an Environment Agency decision to allow the modification of a waste management licence so that the work could go ahead was also unlawful and could not stand.

Able, which won an £11m contract to dismantle 13 ships from the Ghost Fleet, was refused permission to appeal, but can still ask the Court of Appeal to hear the case.

If it is unsuccessful, the company will face having to make fresh applications both for planning permission and a new licence.

The judge said: "The present position is highly unsatisfactory from the point of view of the council, Agency, local residents and groups such as FoE (Friends of the Earth), and indeed Able itself."

* Read more about the ghost ships at www.ghostships.co.uk