UNDERWATER war graves off the Dorset coast may be given official protection in a High Court ruling.

The move could affect divers and salvage operators who would be barred from entering the wrecks of military and merchant vessels sunk during war service.

Dorchester Royal Naval Association chairman George Osborne said: "Our association has been aware of moves to introduce greater protection for a few years now and it is something that we fully support.

"We think it is a travesty of justice that divers can go down and poke about in the graves of men who died heroically and often tragically.

"It's appalling that salvage crews are allowed to go down there and basically rob graves.

"We will be keeping an eye on the proceedings in the High Court and if they decide not to change anything then we will be voicing our disgust."

Under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 the Secretary of State for Defence has discretionary powers to protect any vessel which at the time of sinking was 'in service with or being used for the purposes of, any of the armed forces' of any nation.

The High Court ruling is set to give automatic protection to cover any military and merchant ships sunk during service.

Some wrecks have discretionary orders with exclusions on all or part of vessels depending on the graves inside and on how close divers can get to the sites.

Diving instructor Adam James, from Underwater Explorers in Castletown, Portland, said that an automatic ban on mass graves would not affect diving off Dorset. He said: "There are roughly 2,000 accessible wrecks between Lyme Bay and Poole. Most of the time divers are respectful of mass graves and most will not go down to military vessels unless it is to lay a wreath.

"Skippers will often refuse to take divers out to military wrecks because they would be liable if the divers were caught.

"There is the wreck of the M2 sub-marine which sunk during routine exercises in 1932 in Lyme Bay. Divers could be prosecuted if they were caught trying to get inside the main sub."

During the Second World War alone 2,500 British merchant ships were sunk.

HMS Formidable was sunk by a torpedo in 1914 while sailing to Portland for a firing exercise.

It sank in Lyme Bay with the loss of 547 lives and was declared to be a war grave.

It came under the remit of the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 in September 2002.