MOBILE phone masts located in Mexborough netted Doncaster Council more than £5,000 in rent last year.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Orange paid DMBC £1,738 for its mast at Mexborough High School while T Mobile shelled out £3,500 for its masts at nurseries in the town.
Across the borough as a whole Doncaster Counci
l made £72,871.75 from eleven masts.
While the government says that there is no evidence of health risks from mobile phones and masts, recent protests indicate that residents continue to doubt the safety of the masts.
In March 2006 parents and schools in Denaby spoke out against a mast being built next to a children's play area.
Yasmin Skelt, a spokeswoman for the national anti-mast campaign group Mast Sanity, claimed that the mobile masts have worrying health implications for those that live around them and that for this reason local councils should not be profiting from them.
Mrs Skelt said: "Over 85 per cent of the population are concerned about these masts. It's the public perception that there is a problem.
"We need to ask: where is the money going to?
"The council should be looking at their long term revenue because this will reduce the value of the houses near the masts and will mean that the council are getting less council tax."
