Byron Avenue mobile phone mast removed

Residents protest over safety fears about the Orange mobile phone mast

A mobile phone mast at the centre of protests and a legal battle when it was erected nearly a decade ago has been removed.

A legal challenge by residents opposed to the Orange mast at Byron Avenue in Winchester was eventually dismissed by the House of Lords in 2005.

Street protests were held when the 12m (38ft) mast was erected in the cul-de-sac.

EE said the mast was no longer needed to maintain its service.

The protesters, concerned about the potential health dangers of the mast, mounted a legal challenge in the name of two children who lived nearby.

Campaigner Karen Barratt, who staged a sit-down protest at the mast in 2005, said: "It's great to see it come down and to see them cutting it up."

A spokesman for EE said: "The mast at Byron Avenue made mobile services available to people for many years.

"With the merging of the Orange and T-Mobile networks, we're now able to fully remove the mast, as residents requested, and still maintain a service in the area via a different site."

Karen Barratt led the protests against the mast