Spot the mobile mast
It is a classic English country scene - but cunningly concealed within is that scourge of town planners and source of health scares: a mobile phone mast.
The 15ft mast near Berkhamsted has been disguised as a cypress tree by mobile phone network Orange. The company claims it is virtually invisible, and hopes it will soothe local councils and campaigners who say masts are an eyesore.
Orange is planning to erect hundreds of such masts. "We work with councils to install these, and have a range of trees available, so we just choose the best one for the area," said a spokesman. "These aren't just normal masts with a tree cover, they've been specially designed to resemble a tree from the ground up. All the network operators have plans to use them."
But Christine Mangat, joint coordinator of anti-mast campaign group Mast Action UK, said: "We have a membership in excess of 400 groups, and visual appearance is the least of their concerns.
"What they are worried about is the biological effect of emissions from mobile base stations." She said recent research in Holland found evidence of dizziness, headaches, lack of concentration and sleep disturbance in locations close to some mobile phone masts.
In January a study carried out for the Government found no current evidence of a link between mobile phone technology and cancer. But scientists said more research was needed, and phone handsets were more likely to pose a health risk.
