Spanish inspect stranded British N-sub

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- Spanish technicians have boarded a stranded British nuclear submarine which has been moored in Gibraltar since May.

It is the first time Spanish authorities have been allowed onto the vessel.

The technicians planned to assess the extent of the damage to the vessel's reactor, Spanish National Radio said.

Tireless, one of a 12-strong fleet of nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons, limped into Gibraltar with a faulty cooling system in its reactor.

As a result of the Tireless fault, all British Royal Navy "Hunter Killer" submarines were recalled for safety checks.

Britain initially ignored requests from Madrid for Spanish officials to board the Tireless.

The question of the Tireless dominated a meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar last week.

Both repeatedly avoided answering journalists' questions about whether Britain would allow a Spanish team aboard the submarine.

The two Spanish technicians will report the results of their inspection on Saturday, the radio said.

Local people living near Gibraltar -- a British colony on Spain's south coast that has long been a thorn in diplomatic relations between the two countries -- fear contamination from the submarine.

They are campaigning for it to be transported back to Britain for repair.

Blair said in Madrid last week that such an operation would be far too complex and that it would have to be repaired in Gibraltar.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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