Fury at BT plan to put up mini mobile masts

BT is planning to install thousands of new smaller mobile phone masts in London, fuelling claims by campaigners that the company is trying to keep their location secret.

The masts, which are about 15cm long, will be hidden inside road signs and lamp posts. Because of their size, they will require no planning permission and BT says they are perfectly safe.

But anti-mast campaigners are outraged at the plan. They have already tried to stop phone masts being erected near schools, claiming they endanger the health of children, and there have been reports of vandalism.

Opponents say radiation from masts can cause cancer, brain damage, Alzheimer's disease, memory loss and sleep disorders. "It seems like a massive cover-up", said Lisa Olham of Mast Sanity.

"These masts could be extremely dangerous, as we won't know they are there. Even if the masts are lowpowered, the point is they are hidden. We have a right to know when we are working near to a transmitter."

MPs have supported calls for each antenna to be clearly marked. Phil Willis, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said: "Nobody will ever know for sure of these are 100 per cent safe, but there has to be an open consultation process to decide where to put them. I'd like to see clear signs put on lamp posts containing masts. Potentially, everyone could have one outside their house. It could easily turn into a publicity disaster for mobile phone networks."

BT admits central London could soon contain " thousands" of the masts, designed to improve mobile phone call quality for the UK's estimated 45million mobile phone users.

The company claims the mini-masts, known as " microconnets' will have a far lower power output than existing masts, and that they will fall well within EU guidelines on mast emissions.

David Orr, a spokesman for BT, said: "As a general rule of thumb, we would be looking at one per street."