THE company at the centre of the so-called "ghost ships" row has been fined £22,000 for breaching environmental regulations.

Officials from Able UK appeared before Hartlepool magistrates, where they admitted failing to dispose of asbestos in the correct manner on two occasions at the company's Seaton Meadows landfill site, in Hartlepool.

Able UK held the permit for the site, but at the time of the offences, subsidiary company Alab Environmental Services was operating it.

The fine came only weeks after Able UK finally received the backing of Hartlepool Borough Council for its plans to demolish disused US vessels.

The company sparked a twoweek public inquiry after it appealed against the authority's decision to refuse planning permission to extend the company's Graythorp site, at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool.

Able UK said the recycling plant would bring major economic benefits to the town and that the proposed facilities would fill a national and international gap in the ship-recycling market.

Protestors fear the plans will cause major health and environmental problems in the area and destroy a coastal wildlife haven.

The court heard that a routine inspection on October 28, 2005, found that in the main tipping area for asbestos, an area of about 30 metres by 25 metres had been left uncovered.

An inspection on January 23, last year, found similar activities taking place, which Able UK admitted had happened as a result of a subcontractor bulldozer operator failing to follow operating instructions.

Trevor Cooper, for the Environment Agency, told the hearing that a bulldozer was seen scooping up asbestos and dropping it on more asbestos. The asbestos was then pushed around and, as the vehicle was moving, it was compacting the material.

Mr Cooper said the site was in breach of regulations because the asbestos was not covered with a suitable material and there was no dampening or wetting of the asbestos to prevent fibres being released into the air.

The firm was also ordered to pay legal costs of £4,522.

Speaking after the case, Peter Tweddle, of Friends of the Earth, said he wished he had known about the case sooner because it could have been used to bolster objectors' opposition to the planning application.

He said: "They have not got a licence yet to take any asbestos from those ships to put into Seaton Meadows and, of course, we will using this (case) to oppose that."

Ian Fenny, of Alab, said: "We obviously regret the circumstances which led to the hearing and resulted from a combination of unfortunate and unforeseeable mechanical problems and human error."