JUBILANT residents were celebrating victory this week after winning a battle to stop a mobile phone mast being erected near their homes.

Anxious grans collected almost 500 signatures objecting to plans by O2 to site a 17.5 high mast on farmland in Stockswell Road, Cronton, facing Cherry Sutton estate.

"I feel fantastic," said elated gran Eileen Ecclestone, of Cherry Sutton, who co-ordinated the campaign with her neighbour, Jean Kerrigan.

"It's people power and shows you can take on anybody. I'm really, really pleased. They've listened to our point of view. It's absolutely brilliant.

"A lot of people have different ailments, we just didn't want to take any health risks."

Knowsley Council rejected the application on August 2, because, they say, O2 failed to demonstrate that they had considered shared masts and explored alternative sites.

Councillors claim the siting and appearance of the mast would have a harmful impact on the greenbelt impact and visual amenity and therefore breached council policy.

An O2 spokesman, said: "With more than 16m customers in the UK, it is becoming increasingly important to enhance the quality of our network.

"It is important that people understand that a mobile phone installation operates on a very low frequency and this type of radio signal has been around for 100 years.

"With the number of pieces of research into mobile installations increasing almost weekly, we are able to say there has been no evidence found of a link between mobile phone installations and human health."

Two similar applications by Orange and O2 for masts at neighbouring sites have been rejected.

O2 has six months to appeal.