Residents have launched a campaign to stop a mobile phone company installing a mast near their homes.

Telecommunication giant O2 has applied to Southend Council to put the 10m-tall mast by a footpath to the south of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club, in Thorpe Bay Gardens.

Residents living nearby have written to the council urging councillors not to grant planning permission.

Bob Margerison, 72, of Thorpe Bay Gardens, said he was concerned about the health risks of masts.

He said: "At the moment no one knows what the risks are.

"No one can prove how dangerous they are and, until they do, people are always going to be worried."

Mr Margerison said his worries were based on a friend's experience.

He said: "About four years ago a friend walked into a mobile phone shop and, for some reason, his pacemaker just stopped working while he was in there.

"The hospital didn't know for certain whether there was a link between the phones and what happened, but they thought there might be.

"It is the very young children and elderly people that we are most worried about."

Thorpe ward councillor Sally Carr said the issue was a tricky balancing act.

She said: "People are concerned about the health risk but, at the same time, I rely on a mobile phone.

"I would feel a bit hypocritical because I rely so much on a phone.

"I would assume people who are complaining about it don't use a mobile."

Anyone who wishes to comment on the application can do so in writing.

Comments should be sent to the director of technical services at Southend Council, Victoria Avenue, Southend, by January 23, quoting reference number SOS/06/01647/TEL.