FURIOUS residents are reeling with shock after hearing they could be living in the shadow of a mobile phone mast they fear could damage health and send house prices plummeting.

Now, householders on Leigh Avenue and Shakespeare Road, Widnes, are planning to launch a military-style operation, systematically canvassing homes in the area to put people in the picture about the controversial antenna they have branded an 'eyesore' and a 'monstrosity'.

While the residents fear the worst about the mast's possible health effects, which to date remain scientifically unproven, they also believe house values will suffer on Leigh Avenue, Shakespeare Road and the surrounding streets.

And while the campaigners claim to have been told that nearby St Bede's School lies out of range of the mast's emissions, the claim has cut no ice with the residents who say both streets are a popular route for hundreds of young pedestrians making the twice-daily trip to school.

Katie Carden, a resident of Leigh Avenue, is one of the campaigners objecting to the proposal.

She told the Weekly News:'A major petition is definitely in the pipeline. We are contacting local councillors and writing to and e-mailing our MP Derek Twigg. We are calling for a meeting with planning officials.

'We are also going to visit homes in the Appleton ward because we have heard that three more masts may be going up there.

'I feel so strongly about this that I am even thinking about writing to Tony Blair.

'I recently lost my dad to cancer and I just want to look after my kids.

'The Highfield ante-natal home is just up the road. I am expecting at the moment and am likely to be using the centre. I am now worrying about how this mast might affect my pregnancy.'

She added: 'I didn't know many people in this area but this campaign is really bringing us all together.'

Businessman Bob Gussion, a Leigh Avenue resident who owns Gussions Transport, said: 'I have been along to see the plans and I have written a letter to the council.

'The mast will be just a couple of hundred yards away from St Bede's school.

'Our concern is not only about the possibility of health effects from the radiation but that it may cause a devaluation of the surrounding properties.

'There is wholehearted disapproval among the local residents about this proposed monstrosity.

'To say that we are not happy is an understatement. One girl who lives on this street said that she will sit on the grass verge in her car and not move if that is what it takes to stop this!

'It is disgusting. I can't imagine opening curtains to see this 30ft mast outside.

'I accept we have to live with progress but the masts should be in an industrial area, away from where people live.'

He added: 'Some people say they have been told by the council the school is just out of the mast's 'sensitivity boundary' and schools and hospitals are the only things classed as 'sensitive sites'.

'But at 3.45pm every day this road is teeming with children from St Bede's and Wade Deacon High School and I would say it is definitely within the boundary.'

'This application will result in a campaign and the residents will be calling on BT to find an alternative site.'

A Halton council spokesman said: 'The council has received a proposal from BT Cellnet for a 10 metre-high mast on Leigh Avenue, Widnes.

'Neighbouring residents, ward councillors and Friends of the Earth were consulted by letter on August 23 and they have 21 days from this date to make their views known to the council, which has until September 30 to determine the application.'