A RADCLIFFE man who fled his home and left his job after fears about power lines says he has been vindicated by a new study.

Mr Bill Singleton (56) and his wife, Margaret (53), ran the Sparking Clog pub in Radcliffe from 1991 to 1994, living on the premises which were beneath 400,000 volt power lines.

This week Professor Denis Henshaw of Bristol University has firmly linked power lines with childhood leukaemia and other forms of cancer. According to his report more than 23,000 homes built under or near power lines are unsafe.

The study, funded by the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council, is a comprehensive report of how electric fields of the kind generated by power lines could increase the uptake of radioactive gases by humans.

His research could have serious implications for the electricity industry, which may face huge compensation claims and pressure to move its pylons.

The Singletons' fears over power lines were first aroused after a visit from a Norweb official in November 1993. He took electromagnetic readings at their home and said they were the highest he had ever seen in a domestic environment. He left a leaflet on the possible link between the levels and cancer.

The couple employed Cambridgeshire scientist Alasdair Philips, who had spent six years researching the issue, to investigate their home. He told them it was safe to work in the pub, but not to sleep in the bedroom as the readings were highest there. Their plight was highlighted in a Panorama investigation. Although the electromagnetic fields were found to be within British safety guidelines, it was felt these should be redrawn due to growing public concern.

The worry of living in a potentially dangerous location became too much and Mr Singleton resigned from the pub in August 1994. He and his wife launched a support and advice group, Energy, for people wanting information about electricity radiation.

They were boosted by the support from Bury Council which urged the Government to carry out research into suspected health hazards. But despite research that showed a strong suspicion of a link between magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia, the Government failed to act.

The Singletons' campaign to highlight the dangers led them to a landmark test case at Bury Magistrates Court in April 1995. They tried to halt the renewal of the pub's licence on the grounds that the electromagnetic fields around the pylon cables were a health hazard. But licensing justices dismissed the case and the couple were landed with a £4,000 legal bill.

Mr Singleton, now of Warwick Road, Radcliffe, said: "We feel vindicated. One of our worries was the law that meant that councils could not stop people building beneath power lines. Hopefully, in light of this study, that law will now be changed.

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