Villagers in a Midland hamlet believe a mobile phone mast is to blame for health problems including cancer, Ministers have been told. Almost eight out of ten people living near a mast at Wishaw, near Sutton Coldfield, have become ill, an MP said. Andrew Mitchell (Con Sutton Coldfield), speaking in the House of Commons, condemned mobile phone companies for ignoring the concerns of residents. And he urged Ministers to commission urgent research into the danger to health posed by the masts. The 70-foot Wishaw mast was torn down in November by unknown assailants. Residents, who have formed the Wishaw Action Group, blockaded the site to prevent a replacement being set up. Mr Mitchell said the residents arranged meetings with the mast's owners, Crown Castle, and phone operators T-Mobile. "It is clear to me that the meetings were a complete waste of time. The companies raised false hopes among my constituents and, although lip service was paid to making an effort to identify alternative sites, I am satisfied that it was merely lip service and not a serious intent." He told Ministers: "Wishaw is a small hamlet in my constituency. Five ladies have developed breast cancer. "There is one case of prostate cancer, one of bladder cancer and one of lung cancer, and there are three cases of pre-cancerous cervical cells. "One person, aged 51, who has motor neurone disease, has also had a massive tumour removed from the top of his spine. Others have developed benign lumps, and there are also cases of electro-sensitivity." He added: "Eighteen houses surround the mast, at a range of up to 500 metres, and 77 per cent of the hamlet has illnesses which are believed by those who live there to be the result of radiation from the mast." Mr Mitchell also criticised the attitude of phone operator Orange when residents protested about a mast next to St Nicholas' school in Boldmere, in his constituency. He said: "I observed the perfectly legitimate nervousness and concerns of the governors, heads and parents at the lack of information and the high-handed and arrogant way in which Orange behaved. | 
