ABOUT 200 telephone poles are being replaced in Amesbury and surrounding area as part of BT's bid to bring the height of their poles in line with new EU regulations.

Under European safety laws, telephone poles must not be less than 5.6m above single carriageway roads and 6.6m above high-load roads, such as dual carriageways or motorways.

Many of the poles in Amesbury town centre and surrounding villages do not meet these regulations.

A BT spokesman said: "It depends but they could be a metre or so less than they should be.

"On the other hand, they might not be much below the required height."

He also said some poles could just be defective and need replacing, but whatever the reason, it was important to implement the new safety regulations.

"Imagine what would happen if a lorry caught a low wire and brought it down, or a tractor snagged one," he said.

"It doesn't take much."

But the move has not received widespread approval.

Angela Bayliss, of Edwards Road, Amesbury, told the Journal the new telephone poles looked like giant totem poles and disfigured the streets.

"Surely it is time for BT and the electricity board to place their wires underground?" said Mrs Bayliss.

"Cable have already led the way by placing their wires underground.

"We have endured the ducting being installed and now apparently BT refuse to use it.

"I am also annoyed that there was no consultation and no publicity about this matter - perhaps BT was worried about public protest?"

The spokesman for BT said that with the number of poles in question, placing the wires underground would be too expensive and cause a huge amount of inconvenience to residents living in the area.

"I wouldn't say they were giant telephone poles either," he said.

"Some of them are as much as a metre higher and some are less than that.

"So I don't know where the 'giant' telephone poles comes into it really."

He added: "I know it sounds as if we are replacing a lot of poles but there are an awful lot of telephone poles out there.

"It's much better to replace them and ensure the lines are a safe height above the roadways than cause an accident."

Work by BT to replace the poles began in May and is expected to end later in the year.