RESIDENTS and business owners in a long-standing planning battle have expressed their worry over a newly-installed 4G phone mast.

A petition was launched more than five years ago to try to halt plans to put the controversial mast on Moore Avenue in Wibsey. But Daniella Horbury, who has lived opposite the site for 10 years, said she was surprised to wake up to see workers installing the mast one morning.

Now fully installed, it stands 15 metres away from her bedroom – a distance that Daniella feels is too close for comfort.

She said she was concerned about potential health risks after many documentaries, such as BBC’s Inside Out, investigated the potential impact and the alleged links to cancer.

Daniella told the Telegraph & Argus: “It’s so close to the flat and my bedroom.

“Fifteen metres. That’s really close.

“My main concern is health.

“Some people say it’s ok and I’m going with the fact that it’s not ok.”

Daniella also worried that having a mast nearby could devalue her flat.

Local hairdresser Sandra Sample is also worried about the impact the mast may have on her health – and her business, Insyieme.

She said: “We want to alert people to what’s going on.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable.

“My issue is 20 years of being here and I’ve not even been given a letter to let me know this was being erected outside my shop.”

They said no warning was given with leaflets from the Council to those nearby “not received”.

But Bradford Council said it did give adequate warning time, with a notice tied to a street light near where the phone mast now stands.

A photograph of the notice was taken by the Council in August last year.

A Bradford Council spokesperson explained: “Proposed plans for this 4G mast were publicised in the usual way with letters to local residents and businesses and a site notice which went out four weeks in advance of the planning decision “Proposals were also published on the Council’s website.

“We understand people’s concerns, however, the mast meets very high safety standards set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the international independent body which sets safety standards for this kind of technology.”