CAMPAIGNERS are keeping all-night vigils in a bid to stop contractors putting a mobile phone mast up in their village.

As reported in yesterday's Argus, residents peacefully stopped JCBs and contractors in their tracks on Monday by blocking the entrance to the proposed site on land at Talywain Rugby Club in Talywain.

They say they are concerned about possible health risks and claim the club has not followed proper procedure in leasing the land to Vodafone. The workmen had travelled from as far away as Kent and Lancashire to install a 15-metre mobile phone mast for the communications giant. Yesterday morning another lorry with equipment was turned back by protesters.

Since then people living in Emlyn Terrace, close to the site, have kept an all-night vigil in case they return.

One neighbour is on duty to keep a constant watch on the site and raises the alarm if lorries arrive so protesters can rally round and stop them.

A spokeswoman for Vodafone told the Argus the company had planning permission but she added it took residents' concerns "very seriously".

She said: "We are in discussions about what steps to take now. We are a reputable company and have to do things in the best possible way. "Exposure levels to radio frequency fields from base stations are extremely low - between 1,000 and a million times less than a person gets from a mobile phone."

Mother-of-two Colette Finch, 35, of Emlyn Terrace, said: "I didn't get any sleep at all last night.

"We are concerned about health issues.

"We feel a precautionary approach was recommended and although there is no proof of a health risk, there's still no proof the other way. "We don't want it near our homes."

Torfaen council says it met the legal requirements for consultation last year when planning permission was granted.

It is understood Talywain Rugby Club, a registered charity, stands to benefit from the deal.

The Argus approached the board for a comment but it has declined to do so.

Campaign organiser Kath Gullick, of Communities in Action, said she believed the rugby club had to renew the lease before going ahead with the deal because it didn't follow procedure and inform the Charity Commission of its intentions.

"We think it's an opportunity for the club to pull out of this."