A FIRM from the North-East is at the heart of plans to create Europe's first artificial reef by sinking a Royal Navy battleship off the coast of Cornwall.

The Consett firm of consultants, MIS Environmental, was asked to look into the effects on marine biology of torpedoing a 260ft retired Navy frigate to create an underwater ecosystem.

HMS Scylla, a floating wreck after 30 years of active service, is likely to be sent to a watery grave off Cornwall's Whitsand Bay in the summer.

Once holed by naval torpedoes, it will rest on the Channel's seabed, and be slowly transformed into a living leviathan when coral and other organisms take hold.

The sunken wreck will not only become a sanctuary for marine life, it will also attract divers keen to enjoy the first attraction of its kind in Europe.

Paul Jackson, managing director of MIS Environmental, said: "This contract wasn't totally out of the ordinary for us because we often work with ships in the naval dockyard at Portsmouth.

"If it goes ahead it should have something for everyone. It will become a reef for all types of marine life, plus it will have large holes in it for divers to get through."

The project is the brainchild of John Busby, who fronts the Artificial Reef Consortium.

He hopes to set up an on-deck camera to watch the explosive sinking.

The aim is to have the frigate lowered to the seabed to sit alongside Second World War wreck James Eagan Layne, which is the most popular wreck among divers in British waters.

The Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries must give final approval for the scheme.