Villagers in Staffordshire are covering their walls with tin foil and zinc mesh to counteract the health hazards they believe are posed by mobile phone masts near their homes. Residents living in Essington believe that the 20 or so telecommunications antennae that surround their village may have caused health problems ranging from skin rashes to childhood cancers. Some people are now trying to counter what they see as the harmful electromagnetic radiation emitted by the masts by coating their walls and ceilings with various different substances and installing bronze strengthened windows. Two huge base stations stand on either side of the entrance to Essington. A 53-metre mast structure stands on one side of Bognop Road and a 48-metre mast stands on the other, with a collection of aerials standing on each. A year ago an Orange mast went live on a defunct water tower in the village's Hawthorn Road and T-mobile is awaiting permission from the Department for Trade and Industry to put up a further mast. Villagers have written 100 letters in protest. "We are just surrounded by masts," said Sylvia Wright, a village parish councillor. "We feel like we are under siege." She claimed a large number of people seemed to be contracting cancer in the village and there were fears locally that the problem was linked to the proliferation of mobile phone masts. "For example, my brother-in-law has contracted cancer at 50 and there are at least three children suffering from leukaemia. Some people have skin rashes that won't go away. "My grandchildren have been suffering from headaches and insomnia. Our concern is that these are to do with the masts." Mrs Wright has replaced her windows with new glass, which is threaded with a bronze mesh, and has lined her loft space and ceiling with tin foil. She also has a portable sheet of fine nickel mesh for use in different rooms. Her two sons, Andrew and Adam, who live with their families in houses nearby, coated various rooms and windows in foil and nickel mesh when their children complained of headaches and insomnia. At least six other households in the village are following their example. A friend suffering from skin rashes is going to try a balaclava-style nickel head covering while others were investing in nickel bed-drapes, Mrs Wright said. "I should be out getting the garden sorted out now spring is here," she said. "But I will only spend the minimum of time out-side now." Bill Meredith, head of development control at South Staffordshire District Council, said there were "quite a few" mobile phone masts in and around Essington because it was bordered by motorways. "Essington is very close to the M6 and the M54 and mobile phone companies target areas like this because of the heavy usage along those routes," he said. A spokeswoman for Orange said the company had five masts in the area. "All our base station emissions meet safety levels set out by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection," she said. "As far as we are concerned if they comply there is no adverse impact on health." | 
