A NEW mobile phone mast built 15 metres away from a school has angered parents and staff. Teachers at Torpoint Community College have expressed concern that the new mobile phone mast has been put up near their school. The timing of decision to erect the mast has also annoyed the school as it comes just after it achieved victory in getting a Vodafone mast, which was placed in the school grounds, removed. 'I think teachers are fighting a losing battle,' said one parent, who has two children aged 12 and 14 at the school. 'It does make you worry when you hear about what mobile phones can do on the news. 'It can not be good for the children.' The mast was put up by Hutchison, a Hong Kong- based telecommunications company. The school claims the new structure has broken Cornwall County Council guidelines which do not allow a mast to be within 400 metres of a school. However, a spokeswoman for the county council said that under national legislation utility companies can put masts on council-owned roads and there is nothing the local authority can do to stop it. Hutchison states that it told the college the mast was going to be installed more than a year ago and the radio waves it emits are 5,000 times lower than normal guidelines. 'There must be concerns about health if Cornwall County Council has a policy to keep phone masts 400 metres away from schools,' said Andrea Hazeldine, Torpoint Community College's headteacher. The 2000 Stewart Report, a study into the health effects of mobile phone masts and handsets, suggested that because of the potential psychological effects on people living near masts, all should be subject to full planning permission – regardless of their height. A spokesman for the Highways Agency said that full planning was needed for any mast more than 15 metres in height, but masts smaller than that can be granted prior approval from the Government because they do not have any visual impact on the surrounding area.