<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Ships caught in WWII bomb alert

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Specialist Navy teams plan to move the device out to sea

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->About 250 ferry passengers and crew are stranded on ships in the Mersey after a 500lb bomb was found in the water.
The explosive, thought to be from World War II, was discovered by the Royal Navy at Twelve Quays dock, Birkenhead.
The Mersey Viking and Dublin Viking, travelling from Dublin and Belfast, were ordered to wait further up the Mersey when they arrived on Tuesday.
The Mersey Viking has 64 passengers and 55 crew on board. The Dublin Viking has 81 passengers and 46 crew. <!-- E SF -->
Specialist Navy teams are planning to move the device out to sea to detonate it safety.
The ships were both due to dock in the early hours. Craig Sim, watch assistant with HM Coastguard Liverpool, said: "The likely plan is that the Navy will move the bomb to deeper water and detonate it somewhere safe, where it is not close to shipping lanes, underground power cables and the like."<!-- E BO -->

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...de/4984944.stm