The ships are due to be scrapped at a yard in Hartlepool

A judge in Washington said the four former US Navy ships vessels could sail to Teesside after an application by environmentalists was rejected.

The other nine vessels in the toxic "ghost fleet" are being held in Virginia until a further court hearing, the ruling said.

The ships are holding chemicals including PCBs, asbestos and heavy diesel, and campaigners fear they could break up during the crossing and spark an environmental disaster.

The ghost fleet USS Canisteo USS Caloosahatchee USS Mormacmoon USS Mormacwave USS Santa Cruz USS Santa Isabel USS Rigel USS Compass Island USS Protector Campaigners vow to fight

Marcello Mollo, a lawyer at the environmental legal firm Earthjustice, confirmed that four of the ships had been given clearance to leave American waters.

It is not clear when the ships will set sail, but the hearing related to the other nine takes place on 20 October.

Friends of the Earth legal adviser Phil Michaels said: "We are disappointed that an injunction preventing the departure of the first ships from this toxic ghost fleet has not been granted.

The fight to stop these heavily polluted ships coming to Britain is far from over Phil Michaels Friends of the Earth

"But the fight to stop these heavily polluted ships coming to Britain is far from over."

The ships will be broken down at the Able UK yard in Hartlepool.

The contract would create about 200 jobs and is worth �16m to the Teesside firm that is waiting to receive the ships, which are up to 50 years old.

'No risk'

When campaigners in the US filed their action on Wednesday, the UK's Environment Agency approved the decision to bring the ships to the UK.

It said it was "a better solution for the environment than disposing of vessels in under-developed countries".

The contractor, Able UK, has poured scorn on environmentalists' concerns - which are backed by green groups in the UK - as "scaremongering", and insisted the ships are safe to sail.

Managing director Peter Stephenson said: "There is no more risk to the marine environment during transportation than for any other ship on the high seas."

The legal action was brought by two US groups, the Basel Action Network (BAN) and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice.

They launched the court action in Washington DC to prevent the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) from allowing the first two ships to leave their shores.

A spokesman for the Sierra Club said: "The 13 ships are in serious states of deterioration with several of them already having leaked oil into the James River in Virginia."

He added: "According to the government's own estimates the vessels are laden with 100 tons of persistent and toxic PCBs (chemicals which are difficult to destroy), and over 3,000 long tons of fuel oils."

The decision to transport the ships - confirmed in July - has also been condemned by Green Party activists in the North East, Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick, Alan Beith, and the party's environment spokesman Norman Baker.