PLANS for a 12.5-metre mobile phone mast in a residential area have provoked a storm of protest.

BT Cellnet plans to build the mast just off the roundabout at the junction of Waldridge Road and Whitehill, in Chester-le-Street.

With homes yards away, a bus stop nearby, and school children expected to pass the site every day, local people are worried about the possible effects on health.

However, a Government edict dictates that local authorities only have 60 days to determine the matter if the phone mast is under 15 metres tall.

So despite councillors' opposition to the application, they were too late to block the plans.

Chester-le-Street District Council has now asked local MP Kevan Jones to lobby Parliament to get the law chang-ed.

Since residents heard of the application they have bombarded the planning department with more than 40 letters of complaint and a petition.

Homeowner Brian Elliott, 69, who lives in nearby Netherton Close with his wife, Joan, also 69, is not convinced that their health concerns have been answered.

"My wife has had cancer twice before, so I am naturally worried about the effects of this phone mast.

"It is not just residents though - children going to nearby Hermitage School will have to walk past it every day and most of them have mobile phones clamped to their ears.

"There are a lot of young families around here with children, and we are all aware of the health worries.

"The Department of Health, for instance, say they don't know why certain low levels of emissions can change brain activity, but they know that it does."

Residents are also angry at an apparent lack of consultation from the district council, which meant they did not have a chance to put in their objections.

A council spokeswoman said: "The council's powers are limited in this matter. Because it was under 15 metres high we only had 60 days to determine it. After that time the committee cannot block the plans, regardless of their views.

"However, we are contacting our MP to ask him to lobby Parliament so that local authorities can have more power in this matter."