A PUBLIC inquiry into a new dock on Southampton Water has been warned of the "jam sandwich" that could mean major subsidence in nearby villages if the scheme goes ahead.

The proposals by Associated British Ports to build a new container terminal at Dibden Bay includes major dredging of the seabed and a considerable amount of excavation near the shore-line.

Retired excavator driver Michael Ross from Marchwood warned the inquiry that the excavations could cause movement of the earth below its surface.

Mr Ross, a man with 40 years' groundwork experience, said the surface was made up of London clay. "When excavating trenches are dug into London clay, areas change to very fine sand of shingle which is like a river - always running to the visible watercourse. The whole area is like a sandwich - a hard top, then London clay which is like jam and a hard sub-strata," he said. He added that there was the probability of "mass subsidence in the Hythe, Dibden, Marchwood and Eling areas.

Inquiry inspector Michael Hurley also heard powerful pleas from the Southampton Federation of Residents Associations, the New Forest Association and the South-West Hampshire Green Party as well as Hythe area residents.