A WESTCOUNTRY diver accused of stealing treasure from a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean has described his battle to clear his name as an impossible fight against Spanish legend.

Three British divers say they were forced to plead guilty to stealing from a wreck in Spanish waters to avoid a substantial prison term yesterday.

Peter Devlin, Steve Russ and Malcolm Cubin, all from Cornwall, were accused of stealing treasure from the Don Pedro, a shipwreck locals believe is laden with gold and diamonds.

But they have always maintained they were diving to recover tin from the wreck of the Friesland, a Dutch ship which sank in the Atlantic in the late 19th century.

Despite having permits from the Spanish government and working for the Spanish Navy, local police and prosecutors were adamant they had strayed onto the Don Pedro.

They were charged with destruction of the patrimonial heritage of Spain and of stealing diamonds and gold from the Don Pedro.

Yesterday, the three struck a deal with prosecutors who dropped the more serious charges after they all pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of theft of porcelain tiles from the Friesland.

They were each handed two six month prison sentences, suspended for two years, at a court in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.

They were also ordered to pay a fine of g5,000 (£4,598) between them.

Speaking from Spain yesterday Cubin, 38, said: "We had permits and licences from central government and were working for the Spanish Navy but that was not enough – we were fighting myth and legend about a wreck that was supposed to be laden with gold and diamonds.

"But we know from the manifest that it was carrying wine and immigrants when it sank. We were fighting this obsession with treasure."

Devlin, 51, originally from Falmouth but now living in Dubai, was running his own dive company, Force 9 Salvage, based in Falmouth.

He went to Spain in 2002 with Cubin, from Truro, and Russ, 51, from Helston, to work on the wreck of the Friesland.

Cubin said when they were stopped by police they were taking the porcelain tiles, broken bottles and a sharpening knife from the wreck to a maritime archaeologist for examination.

"It is disappointing to us to plead guilty to something we haven't done," Cubin said. "After all these years there is little left in the pot to continue fighting and our lawyers said there was a possibility we could get the maximum sentence of six years and fines of g100,000 each."

Cubin believes they were victims of the conflict between the local Galician government and the central government in Madrid over jurisdiction rights of shipwrecks in Galician waters.

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: "We have serious concerns about the unacceptable delays in bringing this matter to court and the serious flaws in the police investigation. We are very pleased they are able to return home and will not be required serve a prison sentence."