Residents are furious after a phone company won an appeal to put up a phone mast.

Despite opposition from the community and Brighton and Hove City Council, Marconi/T-Mobile will be able to put up a 10m 3G phone mast at the junction of New Church Road and Portland Avenue, Hove.

The company appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after the council refused to grant planning permission last autumn.

Residents set up protest group Together We Can Stop The Mast, to rally against the plans due to the visual impact and the uncertain health implications.

They said the decision was an attack on local democracy.

But a further appeal to the High Court is unlikely.

Sir William Stewart, head of the National Radiological Protection Board and the Government's chief adviser on mobile phones, has advised against siting phone masts near schools as a precaution.

But the successful appeal means the mast will be metres away from Pumpkin, Playtime and Hopscotch nursery schools.

Mother-of-two Rachel Bridgeman, 41, of Portland Avenue, said the appeal concluded that the demand outweighed their concerns.

She said: "It seems it's more important for people to be able to get their football results on their mobile phones than to take a precautionary approach and protect the under-fives going to the three nurseries, which fall in the mast's beam.

"It's outrageous that the desire for 3G, which most people in this community don't want, should outweigh the safety of our children."

Carmel O'Dell, 46, lives near the Playtime nursery her three-year-old son attends.

She said: "I'm appalled because the residents, council and MP are against it but our views have been ignored."

Physicist Dr Pat Nunn, 52, of nearby Jesmond Road, said caution had been thrown to the wind.

She said: "It feels as if the big corporations have the money to roll over local views.

"It's outrageous because we haven't got the sort of money to appeal to the High Court. Until some legislation is made, it looks like these masts are here to stay."

Celia Barlow MP said she was disappointed but the fight could continue in conjunction with the council.

Residents are yet to decide on their next move but unless the council is willing to launch a High Court challenge, their options are limited.

A city council spokeswoman said: "The council has to abide by the decision of the planning inspectorate in such cases."

A comment from T-Mobile on this specific case was not available as The Argus went to press.