A SHOCKING statement by an American congresswoman has cast fresh doubt over the safety of toxic US warships now berthed in the North-East.

In the news release, Jo Ann Davis spells out her delight at getting rid of the ships, saying: "They are a disaster waiting to happen."

The statement, released at the time of the ships' departure from Virginia last month, is made public for the first time in this country by The Northern Echo today.

Congresswoman Davis helped secure a $31m US government grant to prepare and move the condemned warships from the Naval Reserve Fleet on the James River.

A deal to send 13 ships to the Able UK yard in Hartlepool - securing 200 jobs - has sparked an international outcry among environmentalists.

The US authorities have always insisted the vessels are safe and pose no more of a risk than any other ship.

But speaking as the first two vessels departed for the North-East, a delighted Congresswoman Davis said in her news release: "These ships are potential disasters waiting to happen.

"An oil spill would cripple the James River, creating an environmental disaster and decimating the economy of this area."

Her comments, and a promise that they would never return, are sure to enflame the arguments over whether or not the US is dumping its unwanted waste on the North-East.

They came to light as the second ship, the Canisteo, docked at Able's Graythorp yard to await its fate.

A High Court hearing will decide next month if the company can go ahead with the dismantling operation. By then two more ships, still being towed across the Atlantic, are expected to have docked at Hartlepool.

If Able loses the fight, then the Environment Agency believes the ships - dubbed the Ghost Fleet by the public in America - should return.

But earlier this month, Congresswoman Davis - a member of the Congress House Armed Services Committee and vice-chairwoman of the House International Relations Committee on Europe -was in no mood to have them back.

She told local people: "As far as I'm concerned, it's something the British are going to have to work out. I'm a fighter and I'm not going to bring those ships back here."

Although the deal has faced a barrage of criticism from environmentalists, Able UK has been backed by local business leaders and politicians led by Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson.

Last night, Mr Mandelson declined to comment on Congresswoman Davis's remarks. A spokesman said: "It's got nothing to do with him."

Friends of the Earth's campaign director Mike Childs said: "Congresswoman Davis's words show the Americans recognise these ships pose a huge risk to the environment. They are quite happy to dump their junk in our backyard."

American green groups Basel Action Network and The Sierra Club said that according to the US government's own data the obsolete naval vessels were a "very significant and unusual environmental risk".

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would send the ships home once the conditions were suitable.

Able UK maintains that the ships do not pose a serious risk of pollution.

It says the vessels underwent a clean-up before they left and only contain residual oils.

Other toxic substances, such as asbestos and carcinogenic PCBs, remain part of the fabric of the ships, and the company says they pose no risk provided they are disposed of correctly.