HUNDREDS of people have joined forces to protest against plans to erect a 45ft mobile phone mast which they fear will ruin an idyllic country view and could be a danger to health.

The residents of Low Habberley and Ferndale in Kidderminster are also angry at the lack of consultation over the proposal and the short time they had to submit objections.

Wyre Forest District Council only has to inform residents within a 250-metre radius of an application site if the setting is rural, but the planned mast in a paddock behind the former Fountain Inn in Low Habberley would be seen by many homeowners living much further afield.

Mobile phone company Hutchinson 3G does not have to obtain planning permission, but must submit a prior notification application which can be refused by councillors.

As well as the mast, the company wants to put up auxiliary buildings featuring a meter box and generating plant on the green belt site.

A petition, hurriedly put together in just a week, has been signed by more than 300 people objecting to the plan.

Protest letters and e-mails have also been sent to the council's planning department.

About 150 people packed into a public meeting at the Eagles Nest pub, Ferndale, last Thursday organised by the estate's residents' association.

Andrew Gallacher, of Carlton Close, said: "In short, it was a positive meeting with an amazing turn-out showing the strength of local feeling."

Vice-chairman, Dave Hotchkiss, said the country view from his Ferndale Crescent home would be ruined by the siting of the phone mast and auxiliary buildings.

"It would turn what is green belt into something quite industrial. There is a lot of hostility to this plan," he said.

Eric Reynolds, also of Carlton Close, was outraged that it seemed local people had found out about the proposal almost by chance and he praised the protest organisers for doing so much in such little time.

"My particular concern is about the effect on health which this mast could have. There is so much talk about health issues associated with these things and we just don't know what the long-term effects will be," he said.

Another Carlton Close resident, Ann Rossiter, said: "Coming into Kidderminster via the Habberley Road, residents and visitors alike are greeted with the most breathtaking panoramic view of Low Habberley and the surrounding rural area.

"This beautiful vista is one of the few remaining areas of outstanding natural beauty that remains in our fast-growing town and should be left untouched."

Mr Gallacher added that residents also feared that the mast could be used as a backdoor to further building work on the greenbelt land.

Protesters plan to lobby the planning development control committee where members will decide on the application this Tuesday.