A BOLTON couple have been forced to call off moving house because a nearby mobile phone mast has slashed the value of their home by almost TWO THIRDS.

Brian and Jacqui Makinson of Duddon Avenue, Breightmet, wanted to move elsewhere in the country so agency HGV driver Mr Makinson could line up more work.

They confidently expected their semi-detached home would be worth £42,000, but were horrified when an estate agency informed them that a towering mobile mast within 50ft of their home meant it was only worth -- £15,000.

Mr Makinson said: "It's a real nightmare. It means we are stuck now. We just can't afford to sell. We feel like we've had £27,000 stolen from us.

"We won't be able to move until we die."

Mr Makinson, aged 39, and his 40-year-old wife have spent an estimated £17,000 on improvements to the house since buying it in 1990, five years before the mast appeared.

They have had a new porch built, a new roof installed and all the windows double glazed. The couple were particularly proud of their landscaped back garden.

At the time they bought the semi from the council at a discount price of £17,000, the property was already valued at £31,000.

But all that changed when telecommunications giant Orange put the mast on council-owned land near their house.

"We've spent hundreds of pounds on the garden," said Mr Makinson. "The first thing we used to do when we got home from work was go out into the garden but now we can't.

"I literally went to work one day and when I came back this mast had appeared. We never even received a letter telling us about it."

The Makinsons claim the mast, which has obliterated their former view across the moors to Oldham, constantly gives out an infuriating hum.

Coupled with ongoing scares about the health impact of radiation from mobile transmitters, its location has turned their home into a white elephant.

Central government rules when the mast was installed meant it did not require planning permission.

But Robert Fairhurst, owner of Bolton estate agents Robert Fairhurst and Son, questioned the role of the council as landowners.

He said: "It seems that some of the blame must be attached to the council for putting it there. It's made the property virtually unsaleable.

"Companies seem to have carte blanche to put these masts up wherever they want."

But a council spokesman said: "When the council was approached by Orange about siting a mobile phone mast on the land, we carried out a widespread consultation and we have it on record that Mr and Mrs Makinson at that address have no objections.

"The latest advice from the National Radiological Protection Board is that there is no danger from these masts, though they are carrying on their research."

No one from Orange was able to comment on the specific location of the Breightmet mast, but a statement on alleged health risks said: "There is no conclusive evidence that makes a link between exposure to radio waves, transmitter masts and long-term public health risks.

"Orange has always operated and will continue to operate within the stringent national standards set for radio networks by the National Radiological Protection Board."