Residents in sit-in protest to stop mast

Residents in Kew are staging a sit-in protest to prevent a 36-foot mobile phone mast being erected outside their homes.

The group are so concerned about the potential health hazards of the mast they have joined forces to take part in a round-the-clock protest to stop construction workers accessing the site.

About 50 residents are involved in the dispute with mobile phone network O2.

The sit-in began at 7am yesterday on the site of the proposed mast, outside Kew station in North Road.

Resident Steve Topaz, 35, a company director, said: "It is absurd that there are plans to place a mast in the middle of a residential area."

James Stevenson, community relations manager for O2, said: "Government research has shown that there is no evidence to say that these phone masts are harmful to anyone."