FAMILIES living close to a mobile phone mast have won a landmark battle for compensation.

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, seven families have been offered a total of £117,000 from Swindon Council after the 20ft transmitter was erected in Ermin Street, Stratton, following an administrative error by the council.

The planning department failed to object to the One2One (now T-mobile) mast, within a designated 28-day period, which meant it could go up even though planners wanted to refuse it.

Local Government Ombudsman Jerry White found the council guilty of misadministration causing injustice and has ordered the payment of compensation for the loss in value of the homes affected.

He recommended the council should commission independent valuations of the homes with and without the telecommunications installation and pay the difference.

Compensation will now be between £10,000 and £20,000 per household.

But most families would much rather have the mast removed.

Melanie Hall, was one of six residents to bring the complaint against the council. Mrs Hall, who lives with her husband Richard and seven-year-old twins Curtis and Megan, said: "It should not have gone ahead in the first place it's a residential area.

"This was our ideal home, but from our back garden and my daughter's bedroom all you can see is this mast.

"The compensation doesn't mean much to us really, ideally we wanted the mast to come down.

"We realise that's not going to happen so what we wanted was for the council to pay for what they've done."

The mast is on top of a 30ft building 30-yards from the twins' bedroom and close to four schools. Planners intended to refuse the application saying it would be seriously detrimental to the visual amenities of nearby residents and the general area.

The ruling could now pave the way for other householders who have found it difficult to persuade officials to compensate them for the construction of base stations.

There are now around 26,000 base stations across the country, but that figure is expected to reach 40,000 by 2005.

Swindon Council chief executive, Simon Birch, added: "The council has accepted the Ombudsman's findings in full and has offered affected householders compensation."