Police walked out of St. George's station yesterday in protest at noxious fumes caused by plumbing problems.

Staff complained of headaches, nausea and dizziness due to the foul fumes, and around a dozen officers abandoned the building in protest yesterday morning.

One officer said it was the latest in a string of health and safety concerns in the ageing building.

The main station was closed and members of the public told to use a National Disaster Response Team van which was brought in and parked at the side of the building.

Bermuda Police said the mobile command centre will remain open for the next two or three days as Works and Engineering tries to fix the problem.

The stench emerged shortly before 11 a.m. as Works and Engineering staff continued work began on Friday on the station's plumbing.

One officer said staff were fed up with working in "deplorable" conditions and wanted to move to the new station at Southside.

"A foul odour began to emanate from the toilet facilities," said the Police statement.

"As a result, all staff and operational functions of the St. George's Police Station have been relocated from the station building to a mobile command centre outside the station.

"This relocation, which is expected to last two or three days, will not affect the command capabilities of the service to address the needs of the community in the eastern parishes."

One officer told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "There are a lot of fumes causing headaches, nausea, light-headedness and dizziness.

"The place is in a terrible condition and we should never be working in there in the long-term. This is the straw that broke the camel's back.

"We couldn't breathe in there. The fumes were coming from the bathroom and the people in the Post Office were complaining as well.

"We were stood outside the station and they brought that (Disaster Response Team) van so we could work in that.

"If you go into that building, no human being should be working there. It's deplorable. There are two holes in the ceiling that have been there for months. A couple of months ago we had the roach problem, and now this.

"The building is condemned and we need to move to Southside for our own safety. Right now the conditions are not conducive to a healthy and safe environment.

"I shall not be going back in and many of the other officers have made a stand that they will not go back in until it meets health and safety standards. We are talking about air, which is a basic commodity for everyone.

"Something seriously needs to be done. Officers have enough problems dealing with the stress of the job without dealing with health and safety issues as well.

"In any other company, we would have walked off the job a long time ago, but with Police being an essential service, we cannot allow the public to go without national security."

The telephone number for the mobile command centre is 235 7053.