Minister for Labour and Home Affairs Terry Lister yesterday assured Police that mouldy and damp offices at Prospect were being dealt with as a matter of urgency.

During an interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr. Lister said he was concerned about the sickness of some of the Bermuda Police Service's buildings and said steps were being taken to clean them up.

His comments follow concerns raised ten days ago by detectives in the Intelligence Department that excessive levels of fungus and spores had been found in the carpet following tests by Bermuda Water Consultants.

More than a dozen officers refused to enter the office at Police headquarters until the carpet had been ripped out and thoroughly cleaned.

They were not the first people to complain about the unhygienic surroundings. Steps were taken last year to clean up another office on the site which was suffering the same problem.

Mr. Lister said: "They are all being tested by the professionals and based on what they come up, we will continue to take action.

"We are rotating people around and trying to improve the situation. It's primarily moulds. All the carpets have been cleaned and all the leaks and air quality looked at, so we can hopefully get good air back in there.

"It's an old set of buildings and the technology now and the technology of the past bears no relationship."

But Mr. Lister said he was looking to see improvements made in the offices at Prospect, and said problems with the headquarters should be further reduced when the new Hamilton Police Station is finally built and opened, which would house some departments from Prospect.

Last night, an officer at Prospect, who was not affected by the most recent break-out of mould, said he believed officers were more contented now in the knowledge that action was being taken.

He said: "Environmental cleaners have been in because of the mould, but I know the Superintendent (Randolph Liverpool) in charge of the crime division and Chief Inspector Andrew Boyce have been moved out. People seem to realise that they are working on it and Commissioner Jonathan Smith is regularly sending out e-mails telling people what's going on.

"People seem happier now because the Police seems to be treating the matter respectfully and with the urgency that it deserves."

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said the Service was fully away of the inadequacies of the premises and was working with the Ministry of Works and Engineering to address the problems.

And he also admitted that some of the buildings ad poor air circulation, which meant that staff had to go outside from time to time "to get some fresh air".

He said: "We have recently renovated one of the buildings located at our headquarters after consulting with Safe Performance and Environmental Rehabilitation and Bermuda Water Consulting, and we are addressing further concerns in other buildings at our headquarters. We are mindful of the environmental challenges that exist and we are doing everything in our power to ensure safe working conditions for all our employees. We are grateful to all of our staff who are working very hard in less than ideal circumstances."