RESIDENTS in Moredon who started a petition over a phone mast they say was installed without warning are planning to protest outside the council offices.

Mum-of-two Karen Kelly, who organised the petition, has already circulated 350 leaflets publicising the protest by the offices in Euclid Street on Wednesday, March 30 at 11am.

Her campaign, titled Mothers Against The Mast, has got the backing of nearly 300 residents who signed the petition.

Mrs Kelly, 47, said: "We need all the people that are against this mast to be there and support us." Coun Derique Montaut, (Lab, Moredon), who will be joining the protest, said: "I shall be there because I think as an elected representative I believe I need to reflect the views of the local community and the concerns they have.

"That community has always been close and shared each others concerns."

The O2 phone mast went up on Wednesday, March 9.

The council says the planning application for the mast went through all the proper procedures and a spokesman for O2 said the mast was urgently needed in the area.