Three local residents today won a High Court victory over plans to break up a fleet of so-called United States navy "ghost ships" on Teesside.
Allowing their challenge, a senior judge ruled that the planning permission relied upon by Able UK Ltd, which has the contract for dismantling the ships, was fatally flawed.
The judge expressed "grave concern" that four of the ships had been brought all the way across the Atlantic - but he had not been shown either a planning permission, waste management licence or environmental assessment for the proposed work.
Mr Justice Sullivan, sitting in London, said he was not saying the documents did not exist, but he called for an urgent investigation "into the decision-making processes" which had led to him not being shown the documents.
The ruling itself was a victory for three Teesside campaigners - Mr Neil Gregan (25), Mr Stephen Hall (43) and Mr Ben Marley (18).
They said they recognised that the "toxic" ships must be dismantled, but argued the US should be dealing with its own waste and environmental problems - "not towing them across the Atlantic to Hartlepool and then exposing local people and highly sensitive wildlife sites in the UK to environmental risks and potential pollution".
After a day-long hearing, Mr Justice Sullivan said he proposed to allow their legal challenge.
He said the planning permission relied on by Able UK was granted in 1997 and covered "the dismantling and refurbishing of redundant marine structures and equipment", such as those from the North Sea oil industry.
Both Able UK and Hartlepool Borough Council, the local planning authority, had argued that, as a matter of "ordinary English" and in the context of the planning permission the words "marine structures" applied to all man-made objects made for use at sea, including ships.
Rejecting the submission, the judge said: "As a matter of ordinary English, one describes a ship as a ship, just as a spade is a spade and not a garden structure, even if it is a man-made object, made for use in the garden.
"In ordinary language, a ship is no more a marine structure than a car is a highway structure, a narrow boat is a canal structure or a steam locomotive is a railway structure."
Today's judgment was the second blow to Able UK in a week.
Last week the same judge ruled that the licence modification issued by the Environment Agency allowing ships to be broken up in Hartlepool "cannot stand".
PA