CAMPAIGNING villagers in Chalfont St Giles were jumping for joy after being told plans for a mobile phone mast near their homes has been refused.

The application to build a 22-metre high BT Cellnet mast at the telephone exchange at the Blizzards Yard car park was discussed at Chiltern District Council's planning committee on Thursday.

The worried residents had organised petitions, sent out mock-ups of how the mast would look and even collected letters to send to the council in protest.

And the group was rewarded for its efforts as the council threw out the application.

Katie Roy, of Chalfont St Giles, said she was relieved by the decision.

She added: "Everyone had sent letters and they had 700 of them. They read out one and they [the councillors] agreed.

"We got outside and had a good cheer and went straight to the pub. It was a good village effort."

A spokesman for BT Cellnet said: "We needed that one for the quality of our network and to ensure proper coverage for our customers.

"We are considering appealing. If we do put it forward it will normally take six weeks to get a decision on. We need to look at what the council said on the refusal."