CAMPAIGNERS against a phone mast in Whiteley have won their battle without even firing a shot.

Protesters were gearing up for another fight with a mobile phone company that wanted to put a 17-metre mast, three antennae, two six-metre dishes and cabins in a compound on land near the Solent Hotel, Whiteley Way.

They were concerned about possible health risks from radiation - the site is near 112 homes, Whiteley Primary School, which has 630 pupils, and Whiteley Community Centre, which caters for more than 100 children.

But before members of the parish council and residents had time to swing into action the application from T-Mobile was quietly withdrawn.

The company had been warned by Winchester planning chiefs that an application from Orange for a similar mast on the spot had been defeated by residents last month.

Officially, the reason given in a letter to the council by T-Mobile was that the application was withdrawn for technical reasons. It was too close to another mobile phone mast.

But Don Bate, chairman of Whiteley Parish Council, believes the company is running scared of being defeated by people power.

He said: "I would like to think this is a warning to any other companies that are thinking of putting a mast in here.

"They are unsightly and we don't know at this stage just what the health risks actually are. This is great news for Whiteley."

He added that this was a good demonstration of what can be achieved with co-ordinated action. It is one of the first successes for the fledgling parish council, that only came into being last year.

A spokesman for Winchester City Council said: "A planning officer did tell the applicant about the previous history of that site, including about the application that was turned down."

A spokesman for T-Mobile said: "The design has been pulled and may be resubmitted at a later date."

He said all relevant planning history had been taken into account.