Mobile phone masts are to be banned from fire stations until the technology is deemed safe.

Fire brigade chiefs decided on the ban as they rejected plans to erect antennae at three stations in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

Firefighters and residents at Preston Circus, Roedean and Bexhill mounted a campaign to stop the masts going up.

Francesca Luxmoore-Peake, who fought the Preston Circus proposal, said: "I didn't think it would happen so there is a bit of justice there."

John Dunn, who started the campaign at Roedean last summer, said: "It's a major triumph for public opinion and common sense.

"It has been a major battle and a turning point. We had an informed public who were prepared to fight."

Members of East Sussex Fire Authority were bombarded with letters and petitions as campaigners fought to stop the masts.

Parents of children at the Steiner School, about 200m from Roedean station, wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for an end to the mast proposal.

The Government-sponsored Stewart Report recommended a precautionary approach over siting base stations because of fears about possible health effects.

Safety concerns have already prompted some local authorities, among them Brighton and Hove City Council, not to allow more masts on council-owned land or buildings.

The East Sussex Fire Authority mirrored the ban, saying no more antennae would be sited at fire stations until advice on possible health effects changed.

Chairman Mike Murphy said: "I think the moratorium is there because the fire authority listens to the concerns of the people living in the area and its own firefighters."

The Fire Brigades Union said it was delighted at the ban and it would campaign to have existing masts removed from stations at Seaford, Battle, Forest Row, Hailsham and Maresfield.