PROTESTERS have vowed to carry on their fight to stop a 50ft mobile phone mast being put on their doorsteps, despite it being given the go-ahead.

Mobile phone firm O2 plan to put the mast on land opposite Wiltshire College, to the dismay of people living nearby.

Lynda Adams, 52, of College Road, said: "We will be carrying on. I am hoping, at the end of the day, they will find somewhere else to put it.

"I don't know anyone else who has a mast so close, it is just a ridiculous place to put it."

Under current regulations the Government accepts mobile phone companies need a certain number of masts to meet demand and they do not have to gain planning permission if they meet certain restrictions.

A district council spokesman said: "They send us their proposals and all we can do is check what they want to do qualifies under permitted development rights in terms of their licence."

Campaigners have already put up a sign saying 'No O2 mast here' on the spot the mast is due to occupy, and are planning further protests.

Ward councillor Jeff Osborn said: "There is a lot of anger about this, the fact that they have taken the trouble to put this sign up shows how strongly they feel about it."

Mrs Adams said: "You can see how close this thing will be to houses, it will be right in the view from people's windows."

Nationwide, complaints about phone masts are the number one issue people raise with their local MPs.