SLEEPY-eyed residents in Ronaldsway, Preston, say they are at the end of their tether over a mobile phone antennae that goes 'buzz in the night'!

Families living under the shadow of the mast in Cromwell Road, Preston, are so sick and tired of being woken up in the middle of the night they have vowed to petition the council to tackle the problem.

Dozens of residents claim the antennae, installed by BT earlier this year, omits a high-pitched buzz -- usually at around 4am in the morning -- that keeps waking them up.

One elderly woman, who has lived in Ronaldsway for years, said she has to wear industrial-strength earplugs to bed just to get a sound night's sleep!

While neighbour, Andrey Jackson, 54, is fuming at the prospect of never-ending sleepless nights. "It's absolutely ridiculous," she stormed.

"It's like a buzzing noise we can hear -- and it's always around about the same time in a morning.

"We still don't know for sure that mobile phone masts are safe. The government say to avoid putting up antennas near schools or old people's homes, but most of the people who live round here are elderly."

Deepdale councillor Terry Cartwright, who has vowed to fight on the resident's behalf, added: "The residents of Ronaldsway and the surrounding area have not been consulted over this mobile phone mast.

"First and foremost, we should not be having masts in residential areas.

"And at this moment in time, no-one can say for sure that they are safe or not. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Teams of environmental health officers from Preston Borough Council are currently investigating the situation.

A spokesman for BT said: "At this moment in time, without BT engineers taking a look at the equipment, we think the buzzing noise may be coming from the antennae's air conditioning unit."

He added that it is too early to give a definite explanation at this stage without a proper investigation.

Pictured is the mast on the BT building in Cromwell Road.