It is impossible not to think of the film Vertigo when you look down from the back of the stands at the Stade du Pays in Charleroi.

Perched, petrified, on the edge of the precipice that overlooks the pitch, it was clear to me that UEFA and the Belgian football authorities were making an almighty mis-take by allowing any crowd into this stadium.

The simple fact is that the Stade du Pays is an accident, a tragedy, waiting to happen. In my opinion, that is not being melodramatic.

The seats are banked so steeply that having grasped the handrail and tiptoed your way to the top, the thought of turning around and looking down is enough to fill your belly with apprehension.

You can feel yourself swallowing gulps of air to cope with the sheer panic.

Concentrating on a football match was the last activity on my mind when I visited this stadium for the second time back in February. My real thoughts were: How do I get out of here without having to go down those steps again?

The usual practice among English fans of standing up at moments of excitement during matches will not apply in Charleroi. Fear of over-balancing and plunging down rows of seats is sure to prevent those urges from becoming reality.

For England supporters unfortu-nate enough to have a ticket for next month's matches against Germany and Romania in the upper tier of Tribune 4, it will be akin to being forced on to a fairground ride. Anyone venturingto this little market town without a ticket and buying one on the black market for the three-tiered Tribune 3 could fare even worse.

It is astonishing to think that when the third tier was added to upgrade the capacity at the stadium to the minimum 30,000 demanded by UEFA, the only controversy was raised by residents in local apartment blocks who found their views and sunlight blotted out.

The stands are tapered at the top tier almost to a point, which merely serves to heighten the sense of distress you feel.

I attended the Belgium-Portugal friendly among a crowd of 24,000, then just below capacity. The ground has been extended to accommodate 30,000 for the European Championship but most domestic matches are played out before no more than 5,000.

While Belgian parliamentarians yesterday became the latest to voice their concerns over the Stade du Pays, the organisers of Euro 2000 continued to mount a stubborn defence rather than lose face and take the sensible decision of moving the England-Germany encounter on June 17.

'We would not allow the game to be played unless we were sure supporters were capable of being rescued if they needed to be,' said Pierre Migesha, assistant to tournament director Alain Courtois.

'The authorities have the right to forbid the game if they believe there are too many risks involved. After all, government ministers were taken to task over the Heysel Stadium tragedy in 1985 because they gave the go-ahead when the game could have been called off.

'Charleroi is different to the other stadia being used. We accept that it isn't the Stade de France or Wembley - but it's more modern than Brussels and it is possible to get people from the third tier down to the ground in an emergency.

'We know that people are talking about safety and security now but we hope they won't be talking about it during and after the games.

'The schedule is made now. How can you tell the people of Charleroi, who so much want to be part of the tournament, that having been awarded the best game of the first round, the plans have been changed and the game won't be played there anymore?'

Because, M. Migesha, the safety of every supporter at Euro 2000 should be of utmost concern to you.

Once again, however, it seems that political expediency and sheer bloody-mindedness are taking precedence over common sense and the welfare of football fans.

When I visited in February, curiosity at the steepness of a stand which rises around 200ft above the pitch made me take a walk I regretted almost immediately. I wished there was a side exit . . . or better still, a lift.

Looking down at my companion photographer, I beckoned him to join me at the top. The look on his face would have told UEFA everything it needed to know about spectator safety. If it felt like climbing the Eiger, the comparison is apposite.

The Charleroi Red Cross arranged a special visit to their counterparts in the French ski resort of Chamonix to find out how to carry a stretcher at such acute angles. Then, in January, they conducted a special evacuation test of the stadium in which a 'victim' was inched down the perilous incline to safety.

How can it be possible that we are talking of a major sporting event not involving snow, and mountain rescue techniques for evacuating victims, in the same breath?

Evacuation of any of the upper tiers in any circumstances is a test of nerve as much as balance. In Tribune 3, however, the situation is even more fraught with danger as the handrail in the top tier is not even continuous.

So what will happen in the event of an emergency on June 17 or any of the three match days inside the Stade du Pays? If the way down is blocked, the authorities are believed to be on stand-by to abseil down the outside of any of the giant stands.

And if anyone trips on those precarious steps, dare we even contemplate the consequences?

UEFA claims it has and that those consequences amount to no more than scaremongering.

Take it from one who has been there. Scaremongering it is not.