Inhabitants of the Lancashire town Whittle-le-Woods have opposed plans to build a 44 feet-high mobile broadband mast in a residential area.

Vodafone says that the installation of the mast is needed to improve 3G coverage for mobile broadband in the vicinity.

But Mark Perks of Chorley Borough Council has come out in support of the group which is objecting to the plans.

Perks told the Chorley Citizen that the mast would detract from the neighbourhood, which has suffered from "visually intrusive" constructions in the past.

Vodafone responded in a statement, saying that the mast was necessary to speed up mobile broadband connections.

The provider said: "It will provide our customers with access to mobile broadband with speeds similar to those offered by fixed line broadband suppliers."

Vodafone is currently marketing laptops embedded with 3G mobile broadband-enabling SIMs for customers signing up to long-term deals.