RESIDENTS are furious with a phone company that has put a telegraph pole in the middle of their street without warning. Last week, BT erected a telephone mast in Deerswood Avenue, Hatfield, much to the surprise of people who lived there. Mum-of-two Carly

RESIDENTS are furious with a phone company that has put a telegraph pole in the middle of their street without warning.

Last week, BT erected a telephone mast in Deerswood Avenue, Hatfield, much to the surprise of people who lived there.

Mum-of-two Carly Sayers woke up to find the mast right outside her front garden.

"I think it's outrageous that they're allowed to do something like that," said Miss Sayers, 28.

"The pole has metal bars almost like steps running up it. Are you telling me that children aren't going to see it as some sort of obstacle course?

"I've been here 10 years and it's always been a really nice area, but this pole is ruining it."

Ms Sayers' neighbour Gabriel McDonald called the pole an "eyesore".

"It's right outside Carly's window," he said. "Why can't they put it up in the corner out of everybody's way?

"I wouldn't want to wake up every morning and see a flipping great pole in front of me."

Miss Sayers added: "The lack of response from the council has been disappointing."

But a spokeswoman for Welwyn Hatfield Council said BT had not been in touch over the structure.

"Telegraph poles receive planning permission by virtue of the Town and Country Planning Order 1995, so BT does not need to apply to ourselves for poles in our area," she said.

BT spokesman Jason Mann said: "We don't need planning permission for every telegraph pole, we have certain rights in law.

"It would not be viable for BT to apply for planning permission every time we put up a pole.

"Where we do put a pole, we try to take into account the locality of it, but if people are still concerned then they do need to write into us and we will look at the circumstances.