PRESSURE is growing on the Ministry of Defence to end testing of radioactive depleted uranium shells after claims that land in south-west Scotland has been polluted by stray discharges meant to fall into the Solway Firth.

About 25 shells are now known to have hit the ground during testing. Fired at targets on cliffs in the Solway, they were supposed to fall into the water after connecting. But unpublished MoD reports reveal that on at least two dozen occasions they have failed to do so, causing pollution to spread into the Galloway countryside.

Dr Lewis Moonie, the under secretary of State at the MoD, has ruled out a ban on the tests, but revealed yesterday he will visit the area to speak to councillors and members of the public in an attempt to reassure them.

A spokesman for the MoD insisted there are, as yet, no proven links between the depleted uranium (DU) shells and cancers. And he discounted reports that armed forces minister John Spellar had misled the Commons over the extent to which the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), had an "overseeing" role in the testing process.

"We have to conduct testing on all new batches of ammo as they come out, and that’s what was happening last week," the MoD added. "DU remains the most effective means of defeating modern armour."

DU shells have been tested on the shores of the Solway Firth for the past 19 years . In recent weeks there have been widespread calls for an end to the tests, but experts say that even if they were to stop immediately, the entire south-west coast will be paying the price for years to come. Local campaigners say the tidal currents are so strong in the Solway, as demonstrated by the toxic flares row of 1998, that the pollution is being spread to Cumbria, the Firth of Clyde and Northern Ireland.

Government advisor John Large has branded the land-shelling as "outrageous and irresponsible", and says that even though almost 30 tonnes of shells have landed in the sea as planned, there is still potential for environmental disaster.

Mr Large, an independent nuclear consultant, warned: "Sooner or later it will end up in the food chain."

Twelve shells were fired last Tuesday, when testing at Dundrennan recommenced, and another 48 are due to be tested up until October. SEPA say 6,900 DU rounds have been fired at the site over the past 20 years, containing 28 tonnes of DU.

Community leader Deirdre Murray, a long-term opponent of the testing, said: "This is exactly what we have been warning about for years, but we were ignored. Now we have been proved right."