A MOBILE phone mast will be erected in Westhoughton after plans by O2 were approved on appeal.

The company had been refused permission by Bolton Council's planning and highways committee to build the 12.5 metre (40ft) high mast on land in Wigan Road.

The committee said specified details of external finishes, including colours, needed to be submitted.

The firm appealed against the decision and sought permission from the Planning Inspectorate. The inspector, Elizabeth Ord, has now approved the plans to site the mast between a disused and a working railway line.

She said: "The proposal would form a simple, uncluttered feature which, although noticeable on the highway, would be seen as part of the urban fabric, blending in to the street scene."