As Hartlepool Borough Council wrote to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling asking for the controversial US "Ghost Fleet" to be sent back to the US, Gavin Havery asked residents for their views

PLANS to scrap obsolete US naval ships at the yard on the outskirts of Hartlepool have been met with widespread opposition in the town.

While not everyone approached by the Northern Echo yesterday opposed the £11m project, most residents gave a resounding "no" to the idea of disposing hundreds of tonnes of asbestos and cancer-causing chemicals, despite the benefit of a couple of hundred jobs.

Things are looking up for the town, with the development of the Quayside, and people say they no longer want their community to be seen as a dumping ground for industrial waste.

A straw poll revealed a vast majority of people in Hartlepool are against the "Ghost Fleet", and council meetings have become lively affairs with hundreds of protestors and television cameras outside.

In the summer, Hartlepool council expressed its support for the scheme but, yesterday, following a public outcry, it opposed the fleet's arrival.

After a meeting yesterday, one councillor said people in Hartlepool had particular concerns about the potential impact of the ships on the area's environment.

Labour leader Moss Boddy said there were particular worries about the future of wetlands near the Able UK Yard, which is an important area for migrating and nesting birds as well as a growing seal population.

Councillor Boddy said he was concerned there had been no real investigation into what impact the ships might have.

''My comment is that it has got to be at least environmentally neutral. Anything worse than that and I don't think it should be allowed to go forward.

''A lot of people are also asking about how the various pollutants, particularly asbestos, were to be dealt with if the ships arrived and were stripped of these things. Where would they go?''

He raised concerns about how the presence of the rusting vessels would affect the region's image and its potential as a tourist destination, as well as the effects on the surroundings of people's homes.

He said: ''It is not just about the birds or about the seals. It is also about the environment in which people live.''

* The first two vessels set sail from the east coast of the US in October and two more soon followed.

Nine others remained pending the result of a court case filed by environmental groups in the US to try to prevent them from undertaking the journey.