TV viewers living close to a police station last night blamed a new state-of-the-art emergency communications mast for interfering with their reception. They say wavy lines have appeared on their screens ever since a Tetra mast appeared on the roof of Holyhead police station a few months ago. Even when trying to video a favourite programme, they claim the sound becomes distorted. Traditional analogue service homeowners within a quarter mile radius have been been affected and their efforts to call in engineers to solve the problem have been unsuccessful. The mast is part of a nationwide police network system set up by specialist company 02 Airwave for the Home Office. Edward Taylor, a retired training officer at Anglesey Aluminium, lives in Newry Street, just a short walk from the police station. The 61-year-old has been building up a dossier of complaints lodged by neighbours and friends. He said: "I have a list of about 20 people who have been affected and I am sure there may be many more out there. "We are lucky because we have a satellite system. But as far as ordinary reception is concerned we have certainly seen a deterioration. "We had engineers responding to calls but the stock answer seems to be to invest in digital. "But we have many pensioners, as well as the disabled, who enjoy their TV but can't afford the new systems. "Somebody should take responsibility." Mr Taylor has raised the issue with Holyhead mayor Jeff Evans and Eurig Wyn, Plaid Cymru's prospective parliamentary candidate for Ynys Môn. Last night Mr Wyn said: "Planning authority for these types of mast has been transferred from local authorities to the Home Office. "But if there are serious health risks the local authority and the the National Assembly should intervene." A spokesman for 02 Airwave insisted the Holyhead mast met stringent planning and radio airwave regulations. A Home Office spokesman said: "Current police radio systems are incompatible with each other. New digital technology will allow for more complete coverage of Britain". dgreenwooddp@hotmail.com | 
