FURIOUS residents are complaining that they can’t watch Corrie on TV because a new giant 5G mast has wiped out their reception – meaning they have to ring pals to find out what happened.
Widow Eileen Crossland is so distraught about missing out on her favourite show that she has been forcing her sister to watch Britain’s top soap to recount the storylines.
Self-confessed TV addict Eileen, 78, said: “I can survive without just about anything but not Coronation Street. I love my soaps and Corrie’s the best!”
Retired school cleaner Eileen told how the recently installed “eyesore” 15-metre tall mast has stopped her watching the box inside her own home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
As soon as it was switched on locals relying on rooftop aerials for reception said their tellies went on the blink.
Eileen, speaking to HOAR Online, said: “It wiped out all my soap for days. I was so upset! Most of my neighbours were affected too.
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“My aerial is on the roof, I have no internet or Sky but and as soon as this big monstrosity of a thing was up and running, wham, I had no TV signal – no picture, no sound, nothing.”
Eileen, who has lived in her cosy former council semi for nearly 46 years, said: “What I am supposed to do with no TV to watch?
“The developers should have had the decency to contact residents to say some of us might have a problem but, no, we heard absolutely nothing.
“It’s been awful. I’ve been calling my sister and making her watch Corrie for me to tell me what has happened.
“Well I can’t miss it completely, can I, and I have no catch-up TV facility. I never miss an episode.”
In desperation, the Botany Avenue resident called her businessman son Shane for help, who called out a TV engineer to re-route her aerial for almost £100.
One of her neighbours David Newstead, who experienced the same problem, had a heftier bill of £400 to fork out and said he was upset he couldn’t watch the snooker championship.
Retired printer David, 78, said of the new mast: “It’s ridiculous and doesn’t look right.
“I’ve been going years and years watching TV and then couldn’t watch a thing because of it.
“I had to pay £400 for a new aerial which I can hardly afford. But I need the telly for company as I live alone with my dog Shep.”
‘APPALLING’
Neighbour Simone Swif, who has lived at her home for 27 years, has branded the mast “appalling” – saying it “looks out of place”.
“We were all just so shocked when it was put up, as we assumed that we would have been notified before work started, but we haven’t had any letters,” Simone said.
“We had seen an application for a mast on Sutton Road, which would have been better as it isn’t smack bang in front of anyone’s house.
“It’s appalling, I used to look out onto a nice bit of grass, but now I have the mast right in the middle of my view.”
Soap-deprived Eileen – who suffers from arthritis – told how the only notification of the mast being erected at the beginning of a housing estate was on a lamp post.
The mum-of-three, who has lodged a complaint with her local MP, said: “Well I didn’t see it because I can’t walk that far. The whole street is furious.”
Mansfield District Council said it had put up a notice on a telegraph pole announcing the installation of the mast.
But it admitted it should have notified residents living close to the site by sending out a letter.
The council apologised and promised to write to them, explaining the background to the case.
A planning application for the mast was submitted by CK Hutchison Networks Ltd, which operates the 3 networks in the UK.
The mast was installed by WHP Telecoms Ltd, which supplies network infrastructure services for the telecommunications industry.
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Planning papers reveal that the council had initial reservations about the mast because of its size and close proximity to a residential area.
However, the developer amended its original plans by reducing the height of the mast by five metres from 20 metres and moving it further away from houses.
