POWICK residents fear they will be forced to live in the shadow of a second phone mast.

Hutchinson 3G's plan to build a 15m mast 28 metres from an existing Orange mast at Bowling Green, Malvern Road, is recommended for approval at a meeting on Wednesday.

Angry householders are fighting the plan. A 100-name petition has been gathered and many residents have written to Malvern Hills District Council.

One opponent is Edna White, of Bowling Green Road, who said: "They've got one already. It's a beautiful place where I live and I've been here 30 years. The masts are a monstrosity and I don't really think its fair".

Trevor and Doreen Bell, of Sparrowhall Lane, say they cannot escape the existing mast.

"We can see it from most rooms of our house, even from the roof windows," said Mrs Bell. "It's a shame in a village area, especially with a school so nearby."

Mrs Bell claims the existing mast causes interference on her telephone landline.

"If it can do that to the telephone, I question what it can do to those people living under it," she said.

A previous plan to erect a similar mast at the site was turned down by councillors on health grounds.

A Government inspector refused an appeal against the decision, but not on health grounds. He said mast sharing with the nearby Orange mast should be investigated.

The applicant's agent has told the district council that the height of the existing mast would need to be increased to 20 metres if mast sharing went ahead, further impacting upon the landscape.

A decision will be made at a meeting of the northern area development control committee at Priory Lodge Hall, Malvern, on Wednesday (October 5), at 6pm