A MOBILE phone company which built a mast against the wishes of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council will face protestors at a meeting in Larkfield on Thursday night.

An action group of villagers - Larkfield Opposition To Orange (LOTO) - was launched after the company built a 15m high mast on land owned by Larkfield Sports Club in New Hythe Lane in December. LOTO is run by a committee of eight residents and up to 60 people have attended its meetings to find ways of persuading Orange to back down and remove the mast.

The mast has been at the centre of a row in Larkfield since a planning loophole allowed Orange to put it up. The borough council rejected a design for the mast but failed to send a letter confirming its decision to Orange within a 42-day deadline.

If Orange had received the letter, it would have had to redesign the mast and submit the plans to the council again - but because the letter was late it was free to go ahead with its original design.

Since the mast was built, LOTO has sent out 1,000 flyers to houses and businesses in asking asking for support for its campaign.