An 80-year-old great-grandmother has won her battle against Openreach, with the telecoms firm to return to her home and remove a “scary” pole erected outside her front window.

Joyce Jefferson and her neighbour Lynn Wilde are the latest to have voiced their outrage at large poles being put up around Wallasey and New Brighton.

In their case, a pole was installed close to Joyce’s front window, but after weeks of protest, the pair, who live on Victoria Road in the seaside town, have persuaded the company to come back and remove it.

Ms Wilde said: “We are both extremely pleased with the reversal – it’s a great relief.

“We’d have been stuck with a permanent eye-sore and more importantly, the potential damage to health if it were to be used for 5G transmission in future.”

A spokesman for Openreach said: “We want to create as little disruption as possible to local life and as much as we can, we’re using a mix of our existing underground network and poles. Sometimes we’ll need to install new infrastructure – such as a pole – and understand the sensitivities around this for people living nearby. We work closely with local authorities to keep them informed of our plans.

Wirral Globe:

The notice that was on the pole

“We’re really sorry the process hasn’t worked as it should do in this instance. After reviewing the original objection, we’re pleased to say we’ve found an alternative way forward and will be removing the pole in the coming days.”

Speaking before the firm decided to remove the pole, Joyce, who has six great-grandchildren, said: “When they were installing it, if I could have gone and lay on the floor and stopped them, I would have, I was so angry about it. I can’t ever remember being so angry. I was yelling at them in my nightie. I told them ‘you’re not putting it there, it’s not happening!'”

She described the pole as “scary”, with the pair saying they didn’t think they had “any hope” of getting it removed.

Joyce added: “There’s too many of them – I was gobsmacked. They don’t need that many, there are four close to this house. There was only one in our street when I was a child. They should be underground in this day and age. They are unsightly”.

The pair’s complaints to Openreach included the fact the pole obstructed a “particularly attractive” view of St James’ Church across the road, and that there are already “several poles very close to the house”.

They also raised “very serious health concerns” over the arrival of the 5G network, and fears the pole would be used to facilitate the new technology.

The Openreach spokesman added: “We are currently making some of the fastest broadband speeds in the UK available to thousands of homes and businesses, including across Liverpool and the Wirral. It’s not only quick but also future-proof and more reliable.

“Our engineers are doing their best to carry out this work with great care.

“In recent weeks we’ve announced the extension of our ultrafast programme to reach 4m premises across the UK by March 2021.”