Sit-in protest staged over 5G pole in The Avenue, Bushey

It comes two weeks after a member of the same group parked his car on the grass verge in The Avenue at the junction with Finch Lane, Bushey, when the pole was first supposed to be erected.

Andrew Hearn, 52, who has become the unofficial spokesperson for the group, told the Watford Observer he noticed two cars parked on the same spot on the evening of Sunday, July 16.

Andrew Hearn (Image: Andrew Hearn)

He said: “We spoke to one of the men in the cars and he explained he was a security guard to ensure no physical harm would come to the engineers.

“I said ‘some of the people here are older than me, I don’t think there would be any physical issues’, but he said ‘you would be surprised what could happen’.”

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​By 6.30am on Monday, July 17, six of the residents passed the barrier that had been put up and “we made it clear we wanted some answers”, Mr Hearn said.

He added: “We have never been against the 5G mast. It was never about resisting progress, but we have been unhappy that Three has not responded to our questions about why it has to go there.”

A sit-in protest was launched at around 6.30am on July 17 (Image: Andrew Hearn)

The sit-in seemed to work, as it led to an engineer to explain to residents how possible mast locations were limited.

“When we were given an explanation, we let them crack on and no one came to any physical harm,” said Mr Hearn.

“We haven’t just rolled over, we got the answers that we wanted and now we can get on with our lives.

“As I drive through other neighbourhoods, I see other masts, so I think it is going to become more common.”

Work has started to install the 5G mast (Image: Andrew Hearn)

A Three spokesperson said the site is critical to offering a reliable network to Bushey residents.  

They said extensive searches are carried out on locations and “following planning approval being granted in May we have continued to engage with residents and answer their questions”.

Three did not outline when the work will be finished.