Neighbours objecting to plans for an “eyesore” 20 metre phone mast near their back gardens say they are worried their health will be affected by possible radiation.

Last month families living in The Risings in Walthamstow were sent letters from Pegasus Group informing them about a proposed mast in the grounds of Walthamstow Cricket Club.

Naveed Ahmed has accused Pegasus, who are acting on behalf of developers, of “steamrolling” through the application process and ignoring residents’ concerns.

John Dunn, 82, who has lived in the street with his wife for 38 years said he was hit by a feeling of “disbelief” when he opened the envelope detailing the plans.

“The sight of it worries me,” said the pensioner. “We now look out onto a cricket field but we are going to have a phone mast in the middle of the trees with how many antennae on top?

“I watched a beautiful sunset last night in my back garden and the sun went down almost exactly where the phone mast would be.

"It’s only 100 meters from our house as the crow flies and it’s going to be sticking up above the trees.

“No matter what anyone says there’s always going to be the fear and trepidation that something detrimental comes out of this.”

David Sarna has accused the cricket club of keeping residents in the dark about the plans and is worried the mast will decrease the value of his house.

The 74-year-old claims plans for a carpark in the same field fell through a few years ago after he and his neighbours objected and says they plan on making their voices heard again this time round.

Mr Sarna who has lived in the street for 40 years said: “I don’t want to look at an ugly communications mast when I’m sitting in my extension.

"I’m not happy about it at all. There will be aerials sticking out of it and lots of boxes at the bottom belonging to different service providers. It will be an eyesore.

“I don’t really see any positives to it. There’s nothing wrong with my phone reception at the moment.

"I’m not a telecommunications engineer but why couldn’t they have stuck it in the trees between Whipps Cross Roundabout and Waterworks Roundabout? There’s a nice forest there.

“The cricket club never informed us about this and they must have known for some time. My guess is they will be raking in a huge amount of money from this.”

A spokesman for Walthamstow Cricket Club said: "As far as we are aware, consultation has been carried out in line with the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Network Development in England (2016 version), in fact we believe that Pegasus Group and Shared Access have exceeded the guidelines set out in this document.

"An application has now been submitted to the Local Planning Authority, who ultimately are the arbiters of any final decision on the site, and we would encourage anyone interested to make their views known to Waltham Forest Council in due course."

Pegasus Group ahas been approached for comment.