a mystery liquid from Daniels Head over the weekend.

Government officials checking over the former Canadian Forces Base in Sandys found the barrel, which had no identifying marks, on Saturday.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "It was a barrel containing some sort of liquid. So to be on the safe side we had to think the worst.

"They called for us as we have two men with chemical protection suits which protect against lots of chemicals which can be absorbed through the skin.

"They went in there and put the chemicals into safe containers to seal them off properly and then took them to Government's hazardous waste area.'' Officers in the Bermuda Fire Brigade have been given special training in dealing with hazardous materials in fires and other circumstances.

Firefighters took the barrel to the hazardous waste dump where it was being examined by Government officials.

The spokesman reported that the contents had not been identified by late last night.

Canadians Forces officially vacated the Daniels Head site on New Year's Eve.

Works and Engineering officers have been investigating the state of the site since then.

No decision has yet been made on the future of the land although a committee was set up to consider ideas, which were then passed onto the Cabinet.