Mobile phone mast plague

The extraordinary number of mobile phone masts springing up around London schools is revealed today. Schools in the centre of the capital can have as many as 80 masts built or planned nearby, according to research carried out for the Evening Standard.

London and immediate surrounding areas have half of all the mobile masts in Britain. This figure of up to 20,000 masts has doubled in the last four years and growth is forecast to continue.

There were around only 20,000 masts across Britain four years ago - another figure which has doubled, and is expected to reach 50,000 by next year.

Last year a major study funded by the Dutch government claimed to have found "statistically significant adverse health effects" linked to proximity to mobile phones masts.

This was the first time scientists had reached such a conclusion, but it followed a major study by Swedish experts raising concerns that prolonged use of mobile phones can destroy brain cells.

Britain's biggest mobile phone company, Vodafone, unveiled its 3G service yesterday-and the other mobile operators are set to follow suit within weeks.

Evening Standard's research, by environmental risk consultants Landmark Information, looked at the number of masts close to some of London's schools.

Within 500 metres of one school - All Souls Church of England primary, in Foley Street, Fitzrovia - it found 83 existing or planned communications masts

Another school, Soho Parish Church of England primary in Great Windmill Street, had 51 masts within 500 metres of the school gates, the range within which the signal is strongest.

Campaigners claim the Government is turning a blind eye to the aggressive expansion of the mast network by telecommunications firms, which need to recoup the ?22billion they have invested in 3G licences.

Malcolm Noble, spokesman for the Secondary Heads Association, said: "As is so often the case, self-regulation that is set against the commercial interests of companies isn't going to work properly."

Separate research - to be revealed on BBC 3 current affairs show 3 Investigates - shows nearly one in 10 British schools have mobile masts nearby.

In central London every school had a mast within 200 metres. And in three quarters of cases the phone companies concerned had failed to consult with the schools about erecting new 3G masts, despite commitments to do so in the industry's self-regulation code.

The worst culprit was Vodafone, which BBC3 says did not consult in 80 per cent of cases. The programme also alleges that T-Mobile is secretly upgrading masts to 3G while pretending to be doing maintenance work.

T-Mobile denied misleading councils, and insisted it was "committed to responsible network development" and complied with legislationand contractual agreements. Although there is no concrete evidence exposure to radiation from masts is harmful, campaigners say the long-term health risks cannot yet be known.

The Government's report into the risks, written in 1999 by its former chief scientist Sir William Stewart, highlighted how children may be more vulnerable because of their smaller body weight and developing nervous systems.

Karen Barratt, of campaign group Mast Sanity, said: "We don't want another situation where we were only wise after the event, like smoking, asbestosis and servicemen watching nuclear explosions without protective clothing. There is a great deal of research to show there is something to worry about."

In a test case at the Court of Appeal today, Caroline St Leger-Davey is fighting plans by Orange to erect a mast near her children's school in Winchester.

A spokeswoman for the Mobile Operators Association denied children are at risk. She said: "Mobile phone operators carry out extensive consultation and are committed to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Code of Best Practice. If there are allegations to the contrary the operators will investigate."

The capital is a battleground of conflict between parents and planners as more and masts are erected to service the increasing demands of mobile phones offering more and more sophisticated services.