Mobile phone mast destroyed over cancer fears

A 150-foot high mobile phone mast in Northern Ireland has been attacked by people living nearby who believe it had caused several cases of cancer in the area.

The mast, located in the Cranlome area of Dungannon, Northern Ireland, was brought down on Saturday evening. Those responsible are thought to have broken through an electrified fence before using an angle grinder to sever its four legs.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), which owned the mast, has condemned the action - which it claims has also endangered local electricity supplies.

"This facility identifies faults on the network and transmits information to NIE's control centre. It also allows NIE's engineers to communicate with each other by radio, which is vital when we have to deal with the sort of widespread damage a storm can bring," said a spokesman for NIE.

"This damage will hamper the restoration of electricity supplies if there is any damage to the local electricity network in the coming months, and will delay the implementation of new network monitoring systems," he added.

The mast was used by five mobile phone operators and also provided radio communications facilities for a range of organisations including the ambulance service, the water service and Dungannon Borough Council.

Local residents have been campaigning against the mast, claiming that several cancer cases have been caused by the electromagnetic radiation it emits.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the attack is thought to have been triggered by the death of a local man from cancer last week.

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK