Experts today warned that one of the most important shipwrecks in the world is under threat - from a timber-eating marine worm.

Now the remains of the Dutch East India sailing ship Amsterdam, which ran aground at Bulverhythe, near St Leonards, following a mutiny 250 years ago, may be covered with sand to prevent further decay.

At low tide, the shape of the ship can still be clearly made out, but timbers exposed to the sea and air are under attack from the toredo, which is becoming more common in Sussex waters as the Channel slowly warms up.

Dr Peter Marsden, director of the Shipwreck Heritage Centre in Hastings, is becoming increasingly concerned about the vessel's deteriorating condition.

He said: "The toredo is a little creature in the sea, not unlike an earthworm, which burrows into and eats wood. For thousands of years it has been the bane of ships. Unless you are careful, the vessel starts leaking and sinks.

"That is why the Cutty Sark and HMS Victory are covered below the waterline with copper sheeting. It is very serious indeed.

"Although the Amsterdam ran aground 250 years ago, the visible part is being attacked by the toredo.

"Consequently the wreck is deteriorating badly and there is consideration that it should be buried. That is the only way of protecting it from these marine creatures.

"Everyone recognises the Amsterdam as the best preserved East Indiaman known in the world. It is superlative.

"There has even been talk that the wreck should be considered as a World Heritage Site. It is that important."

Below the sand, the vessel's three-deck hull goes down to a depth of 30ft and contains thousands of bottles of wine.

Earlier this year, a bottle was uncorked and tasted by wine experts, who declared it just about drinkable.

The 50-gun Amsterdam, a 150ft ship carrying 333 people, was on its maiden voyage from Holland to Java when disaster struck.

During two weeks at sea, 50 of the crew died of disease and dozens of others fell sick.

They were hit by a ferocious gale, the Amsterdam lost its rudder and the crew mutinied, killing the captain's cabin boy on his 15th birthday.

After breaking into the ship's wine store, the mutineers got steaming drunk and on January 26, 1749, forced skipper Willem Klump to deliberately run the vessel aground.

People who witnessed the drama recorded their surprise at hearing loud singing from the stricken vessel at the height of the storm.

Dr Marsden said the Amsterdam set sail with two-and-a-half tons of silver bullion on board, but there was none left in the wreck now.

Had the ship made it to Java, the bullion would have paid for porcelain, spices and silks for the European market.

The Shipwreck Centre possesses a series of artifacts from the wreck, including a bronze cannon dumped off Bexhill to lighten the load, pewter spoons and the leg bones of the poor cabin boy.

Dr Marsden regards the Amsterdam as the Mary Rose of its day and it is a protected historical monument.

But so far the Dutch Government, which owns the wreck, has declined pleas to help pay for its removal and preservation.

* There is a pub called the Amsterdam in Shoreham, at the junction of Old Shoreham Road and Upper Shoreham Road. The pub has an eye-catching sign depicting the ship under full sail, but there is no historical connection. A previous landlord merely liked the name.

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