PROTESTS against a new 15ft phone mast on a Trowbridge estate have proved fruitless. More than 150 signatures have been collected objecting to O2's plans to put a mast on land opposite Wiltshire College.

Residents have been told the mast will go ahead. Lynda Adams, 51, who lives on the estate, said: "It is dreadful they can just come in and do what they want.

"They just don't care about the effect this will have on people's lives."

People living near the mast are worried about the effects it may have on health. There are also concerns it will be an eyesore and trigger a fall in property prices.

West Wiltshire District Council has approved the details of the application, but a spokesman said it had no power to stop the mast.

Under licences granted to telecommunications companies by the Government the phone firms have permitted development rights for certain types of masts.

Council spokesman Louise Knox said: "There is little a local authority can do. They send us their proposals and all we can do is check that what they want to do qualifies under permitted development rights in terms of their licence."

Meanwhile people in Warminster are celebrating after plans for a controversial mobile phone mast were thrown out. The 12-metre T Mobile mast planned for Station Road upset residents and prompted fears for children at nearby Avenue Primary School.

Officers from the district council threw out the application using delegated powers, saying the mast failed to preserve and enhance the surrounding area and that it would be too close to an existing mast and that the location of the base station was contrary to the District Plan. Burt Paul, 79, the chairman of governors at the Avenue, said: "I am just pleased that common sense has prevailed. We have to fight on behalf of the children as they are too young to fight for themselves."

Plans for more masts across west Wiltshire have stirred up controversy. In Melksham Vodafone's plans for a 38ft mast on a grass verge off Sandridge Road have been criticised by residents.

Although there is no proof phone masts have an adverse effect on health, some scientists have claimed they could lead to an increase in cancer cases.