WORRIED residents in Flax Bourton are preparing to fight off plans to install a towering phone mast just metres away from a children's play area. Telecommunications giant Orange has applied to North Somerset Council for permission to install the 15 metre

WORRIED residents in Flax Bourton are preparing to fight off plans to install a towering phone mast just metres away from a children's play area.Telecommunications giant Orange has applied to North Somerset Council for permission to install the 15 metre high mast on a cycle path between the village hall and the A370.But residents say they are concerned at the potential health implications of the mast which will be sited just a short distance away from the village's play area and sports fields.Worried resident Michael Barnes said: "Where Orange proposes to put the mast is near the village hall and the sports field which is used for junior sports. There is also a play area for little children at the playing fields."Unfortunately, the Government says objections to these masts cannot be raised on health grounds."But there are parents in the village who have little children and are very cautious about this proposal."Mr Barnes, a former chairman of Flax Bourton Parish Council, said the visual impact of the mast in the village would be unacceptable.Mr Barnes added: "The mast will be practically right on the roadside at the entrance to the village."It will have an unpleasant visual impact on the village."It is understood the cyclepath is the third suggested site for the mast.In the past the telecommunications giant has suggested the quarry and land near the railway line as potential sites for the mast.Flax Bourton Parish Council was due to discuss the mast application at its meeting on Monday night.Parish council chairman Caz Hore-Ruthven said: "People in the village are very concerned about this mast proposal because of the possible health risks it may pose.