Vodafone had wanted to put the mast close to St Margaret's Primary in Salmon Inn Road, Polmont.

The company had begun a period of public consultation informing those living next to the proposed site of its plans.

However, two days ago Vodafone suddenly announ-ced it was withdrawing the proposal.

Prior to the decision, one parent said: "The first I found out about it was last Thursday when the kids were given a flyer telling us of the plans to put the mast close to the water pumping station.

"I wrote a letter of objection to the council on health grounds because it is less than 400 metres from the school. We don't know what the long-term affect these masts will have on health and there could be a danger.

"After all, its not that long ago that people never thought twice about passive smoking, but now we know there are dangers. Who can say that it might not be the same with mobile phone masts."

Adrian Lewis, chairperson of the primary school's parent council, was also concerned about the proposal and sent a letter of objection.

He said: "My objections were on health grounds as there is no conclusive evidence from research already carried out to show there will be no impact on health.

"The council has followed the planning rules to the letter by only contacting the households right beside the site. But in terms of openness, perhaps they should have contacted all local residents as well as the school."

However, a spokeswoman for Falkirk Council said Vodafone had decided not to continue with the application.

Last night (Wednesday), a Vodafone spokesman said: "We were considering this site along with others. However, due to technical issues we have decided not to proceed but are still actively looking for another site in the area."

j.buchanan@falkirkherald.co.uk