FURIOUS residents have launched a campaign against plans for a mobile phone mast near homes and a school in the New Forest.

Communications company Hutchison 3G UK has angered Brockenhurst families by applying for planning permission to build a 16-metre transmitter in the heart of the village.

Hutchison, which provides masts for the most up-to-date mobile technology, plans to disguise the aerial as a cypress tree.

But protesters say the huge structure will be an eyesore and a potential health hazard.

If the application is approved, the three-antennae mast will be built on land at the BT telephone exchange site in Sway Road.

Campaigners include Margaret Histed, of nearby Auckland Avenue, who is urging fellow villagers to sign protest petitions at the local Londis shop, Rainbow Fish Bar and Gates Garage.

Mrs Histed said: "The mast would tower over our homes. It would be a stake through the heart of the village.

"The proposed site is in the middle of a densely-populated residential area and only a couple of hundred metres from the primary school.

"Whether it looks like a tree or not it's going to be massive - and no one yet knows if any health risks are likely."

Brockenhurst Parish Council has objected to the application.

Parish councillor Nina Ball said: "We are always concerned about these things. We are told that we cannot object on the grounds of health or safety, but these are in the back of our minds all the time."

Garath Coombes-Olney, Hutchison 3G's communications affairs manager, said the tree-type design would minimise any visual impact.

He added: "There are stringent guidelines governing all types of telecommunications equipment and we have to provide evidence that any emissions will be within safety limits."

New Forest District Council will consider the application later this month.Objectors should write to Mr R Ainslie at the council's planning department at Appletree Court, Lyndhurst, by July 20.