MOBILE phone companies O2 and Vodafone want to build four masts in Winchester and extend a fifth.

The sites include Stoke Road in Abbotts Barton, where residents protested in the street against similar proposals in 2008.

Plans for a mast at the corner of Stockbridge Road and Stoney Lane, which were also shelved after opposition three years ago, have also been revived.

The companies have also put two extra Winchester sites forward. One is at Chilbolton Avenue and the other is the junction of Alresford and Winnall Manor Roads.

They also want to enlarge a nine-metre mast at the junction of Ridgeway and St Annes Close in Badger Farm by 1.8-metres.

If built, the other four masts would range in height from 12.4 to 13.8 metres.

Residents who fought the Stoke Road and Stoney Lane schemes in 2008 are now preparing to fight again.

A leaflet drop is already planned in Abbotts Barton, and more details about the campaigns will be available soon.

Winchester City Council is expected to make a decision on the schemes within a few weeks.