A BLUNDER by council officials means a new mobile phone mast will be built against the wishes of nearby residents even after planning permission was refused.

Residents are furious at the slip-up, especially as they received letters from Wycombe District Council stating the application had been turned down.

Telecommunication giant One2One's application to put a mast on top of the water tower in Tower Close, Flackwell Heath, was rejected earlier this year.

But this week, contractors for One2One were surveying the water tower ahead of adding the mast because the council failed to notify the firm of its decision within the required 28 day period taking 29 days instead.

Due to a legal loop hole, One2One can now go ahead with its original application and build the new mast.

Norman Nea, of nearby Georges Drive, said: "It has taken from June to December for this to come out and we haven't been notified about any of it.

"We based our campaign against this mast on the health implications. We might keep harping on about this but only recently the government advised parents not to let their children use mobiles for too long."

Angry parents, teachers and pupils gathered outside Juniper Hill School, Churchill Close, near the tower, in May to oppose the plan and a petition with more than 200 signatures was handed to the council.

"I just feel we have been stabbed in the back," said Darryl Urquhart-Dixon, of Georges Drive.

"One2One have got the mast on a technicality. My main worries are the health risks and that it will be on the tower where we get our water from."

Cllr Ken Ross, chairman of Bucks County Council, lives in Fennells Farm Road, Flackwell Heath.

He said: "I am very upset that the decision was not properly served. It is a great pity this development has slipped through the net and I hope people will contact their councillors urgently."

A spokesman for Wycombe District Council said: "Following legal advice we have had to confirm that One2One can go ahead with their scheme.

"We have however, made the strength of public objection very clear and have asked that they do not go ahead with their proposal, but work with us to find a more acceptable site."

A spokesman for One2One said: "The company has not yet decided when the mast is going ahead. But it will go ahead and it will be some time in the New Year."