Your headline ('Phone mast is causing a rash', Hereford Times, March 24) was in my view highly irresponsible, even allowing for the quote marks. I am truly sorry that Ms Boughton has such unpleasant symptoms and that she ascribes these to the presence of a mobile phone mast.

However, you report her self-diagnosis as if it were correct and without any reference to the copious amount of scientific research on this subject.

There have been several dozen studies of so-called electrosensitivity over the past ten years and none of these has reliably demonstrated any connection between symptoms and the presence of electromagnetic fields. Bear in mind that these were carefully designed and conducted, double-blinded experiments carried out under controlled conditions - a million miles away from the type of anecdotal evidence covered in your article. The World Health Organisation says: ". . . there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem."

Ms Boughton's distressing symptoms could have been brought on by a wide range of environmental or psychological factors and until these have all been isolated it would be impossible to pin-point the cause, but electromagnetic radiation is amongst the least likely.

Ian Quayle

FOWNHOPE