There was an indignant reaction from some 50 local residents at the resumed Tetra mast public inquiry on Thursday, when an expert witness suggested the fear factor would slip away once the mast was built.

There were further cries of disapproval when David G. Holmes, town planner and surveyor for O2 (UK) Ltd, said the visual impact of the mast would also fade as people got used to it.

The public inquiry opened before Assembly planning inspector Andrew Poulter on November 1st and 2nd to hear O2 (UK) Ltd's challenge to Pembrokeshire County Council's refusal of consent for an 18-metre communications column with two antennae off Uzmaston Road, Haverfordwest.

It was resumed at the County Show Pavilion at Withybush.

Questioned by the council's barrister, Miss Tina Douglas, Mr Holmes accepted the residents' fears were genuine, but said he did not think they were objectively justified.

He said the company had been given notice by the Chief Constable to remove its mast from the police station "for operational reasons" by May 1st.

If no alternative was found there would be a hole in the network. Several alternative sites had been seen.

He was asked by Miss Douglas whether - if two sites were equal in all other respects - he would take into account the proximity to residential property and the fears of residents.

He replied that they would probably take into account the comparative thickness of the objectors' correspondence files.

The proposed 18-metre mast would replace a 15-metre mast built on the site in 1996.

The inspector's adjudication is not expected until the new year.