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FOUR Scottish fishermen were treated in quarantine after a phosphorous 'shell' they hauled up in their nets reacted on board their boat.

The crew of the Oban-based Star of Annan were treated in hospital suffering the effects of smoke inhalation after a phosphorous shell they'd hauled up in their nets suddenly reacted on their deck.

The heat from the reaction on the 60ft vessel was so intense it turned steel white and even COOKED some crab claws next to it on the deck, according to a source.

The alarm was raised when all four of the crew started to feel unwell with chest pains, stomach pains and streaming eyes.

It is understood the fishermen were dredging for scallops in an area near the Beaufort's Dyke trench between Scotland and Northern Ireland when they picked up the shell in their nets.

The trench was used for decades by the Ministry of Defence as a dumping ground for all kinds of unwanted incendiary and chemical warfare shells as well as radioactive waste.

A deadly arsenal of mortar bombs, rockets, grenades and unrecorded other weaponry estimated at least three million tonnes large is thought to lie in the trench.

On Tuesday as the boat made its way to a separate fishing ground near Islay the phosphorous suddenly reacted after being dislodged.

One source, who asked not to be named, told the Record: "The boat took a roll and, whatever happened, the thing went off. If this stuff touches steel it starts fizzing and ignites immediately. Within seconds the smoke was so thick the lads in their bunks down below could not see each other.

"They couldn't even see the ladder to get out. In the space of a couple of minutes the fire had turned the steel white hot. Some crab claws on deck near it were completely cooked through. It was intense."

It is undersood the skipper managed to get the fire out by hosing it down and the vessel carried on towards Islay.

"They started fishing on the Tuesday morning but the whole crew felt unwell so were told coastguards would either send out a helicopter or they should get in to Oban and go to hospital."

When the boat docked in Oban the crew were driven to the Lorn and Islands Hospital by the wife of one crew member where they were treated in quarantine before being transferred to the hospital's high dependency unit.

The source said: "All the medics were wearing goggles and masks and everything and they even phoned the National Poisons Information Service for advice."

The four crew men were kept in the hospital overnight with two transferred to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley as a precaution for eye injuries.

It is understood the men were all later released and the boat was due to resume fishing tomorrow.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed the force had been made aware of the incident, but said it was not a police matter.