Top UK diplomats have admitted they were stunned by the mess left behind by the US armed forces when they quit their Bermuda bases.

Hugh Philpott -- head of the Caribbean and Bermuda desk at the Foreign Office -- said: "I didn't really know what to expect.

"It was my first visit to Bermuda and my image of Bermuda from pictures and films was of a very beautiful Island.

"I wasn't expecting to find something quite as ugly in Bermuda.'' But Mr. Philpott added: "I think the scale of the sites and state of decay was partly because it's gone into disuse -- that probably would happen to any such site.'' And he said: "What we're really interested in, rather than superficial experience, is what it really means, what's there, how it should be handled and what are the legal liabilities and obligations.'' But he stressed he was not a technical expert -- and the level of pollution involved was a matter for environmental advisors.

Mr. Philpott was speaking on Wednesday after he and colleagues from both the Foreign Office and the British Embassy in Washington toured the former US Naval Air Station in St. David's and the old Annex in Southampton to gather ammunition for a fresh assault on the US position that they are not liable for the estimated $60 million-plus clean-up of the bases they quit in 1995. In addition, Mr. Philpott, FO deputy legal adviser Ian Hendry and British Embassy First Secretary Alex Hall Hall, went to see the Longbird Bridge -- in a state of decay and also a US responsibility, and the NASA tracking station on Cooper's Island.

The diplomats also held top-level meetings with Bermuda Government Ministers in a bid to thrash out the best approach to getting the US to pay up.

Mr. Philpott said: "At this juncture, this is the starting point of revitalising the process and we have come mostly to view in practical terms what's here on the ground.'' He added: "This is essentially part of developing a way forward with the Government of Bermuda to take the issue forward with the Americans.'' Ms. Hall Hall said: "Up until this point we have been following very closely the issue and we've always made it very clear to the US that we have been very supportive of Bermuda's position on the bases.'' She added she had studied the recent decision by the US to compensate Canada for clean-ups of bases in that country and that the UK would be examining that decision closely to see if it can be used to bolster Bermuda's case.

And Mr. Philpott added: "We will work with the Government here even more closely so we're all speaking with the one voice in the arguments we want to develop.'' But Ms Hall Hall said the joint negotiations would be handled in a friendly way -- not "having a bat to beat the US with''.

She added: "There is a clear problem, which we saw graphically. We have co-operated with the US as Bermuda has co-operated with the US -- it's not an issue of confrontation, it's a way of working together in a way which makes us all happy.'' ENVIRONMENT ENV