Sheila and Mike Moulton say they started to feel very unwell

Hundreds of the new Terrestrial Trunked Radio (Tetra) masts are being erected across Hampshire, Dorset and the Thames Valley part of a new nationwide high-tech police radio system.

Mike Moulton and his wife Sheila say the new Tetra mast near their home in Cowleaze, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, is making them feel ill.

They have abandoned their bedroom upstairs, and are sleeping in the basement, further away from where they say the radiation is strongest.

Number of masts needed Hampshire 120/130 Dorset 70 Thames Valley 120

"The mast became active on Friday and we found Friday night particularly troublesome, we developed headaches and started feeling very unwell - with a general feeling of lack of concentration," said Mr Moulton.

On Saturday, a public meeting was held in Liss, Hampshire after the local council asked Airwave to take down two Tetra masts they had put up without planning permission.

Airwave say as they have strict deadlines to erect the masts on behalf of the police, they are justified in putting them up first and then applying for planning permission afterwards.

Regulations about mobile phone masts do not apply to the Tetra equipment, and some experts have raised concerns about the health effects.

Independent study

Tetra masts pulse at 17.6Hz, which is very close to the 16Hz frequency the government's Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones warns might affect brain activity.

Some studies have suggested radio waves around this frequency could cause calcium to leak from the brain, triggering damage to the nervous and immune systems.

Around 120 masts will be needed for the system in Hampshire, and Airwave MMO2, the company who are carrying out the work aim to have them all installed by the end of November.

The 70 masts needed in Dorset have already been erected, and the system was trialled at September's Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth.

In the Thames Valley, 120 Tetra masts have been installed and signed off to the police.

A Home Office spokesman said they had carried out a comprehensive research programme into the health and safety aspects of Airwave, and that there were no discernable health risks associated with Tetra masts.