"The younger the child, the greater the danger."

MAX is excited. He's almost 13, so he tries not to let it show, but it is obvious all the same. His parents have finally agreed to let him have his first mobile phone and he can't wait to get his hands on it.

"All my friends have got one, and I'm getting one soon," said the 12-year-old Tadcaster Grammar School pupil from Copmanthorpe. "I'd really like a camera phone, but it will mainly be for texting. It will also be really handy for my mum when she wants to tell me tea's ready."

His father, Edwin Knighton, admits to being "ambivalent about the whole phone thing" including yesterday's report by Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), which warned parents about the potential health risks of giving children, particularly those under eight, a mobile phone.

"I am obviously aware of the health concerns," said Mr Knighton, "but nothing has been proven and, to be honest, I don't think it ever will be. People have to make their own choices, and parents have to make choices for their children.

"Max is nearly 13 and I think that is old enough to have a phone. I don't think age has anything to do with owning a phone. I'm anti technology, so I was very late getting a phone. But if an eight year old can work a computer, they can use a phone. I don't really see that there's a difference."

Reports from other European countries have raised concerns over possible links between mobile phone use and tumours in the ear.

Prof Stewart said that no firm conclusion had been reached on the possible impact of new phone technology on the human body, but in a BBC radio interview he said: "I believe that parents have a responsibility to their children not simply to throw a mobile phone at children and say 'there you go'.

"If there are risks, and we think there may be risks, then the people who are going to be most affected are children, and the younger the child, the greater the danger."

His warning comes after the NRPB was given the task of following up on an inconclusive study published in May 2000 by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, also headed by Prof Stewart. While this report accepted there was no substantial evidence that mobile phone emissions were harmful to health, it recommended a "precautionary approach", advised all users to keep calls brief and said children should be discouraged from using handsets except in emergencies.

Yesterday's report did not contain any definitive proof, but it did include new results from other studies carried out since 2000, most notably a Swedish study which indicated that using a handset for ten years or more led to a fourfold increase in the risk of ear tumours.

Professor Lawrie Challis, vice-chairman of the NRPB review, said the board was concerned that people were still refusing to take a precautionary approach to phones, adding: "I would certainly not wish my own grandchildren to use mobile phones more than they had to."

There are around 55 million mobile phone users in the UK, according to industry figures. Around a quarter of primary school children are thought to own a handset, with the figure rising to 90 per cent among 11-16 year olds.

Sharon Cottrell, who runs Cutting Station men's hairdressers in Walmgate, York, is one of the many parents who gave in to pester power and bought their child a mobile phone for Christmas. After a year of begging, her son Daniel, nine, has now got his first handset.

"He's really into gadgets," she said. "He wanted it more for the games and texting than the phone calls. To be honest, there are not many people a nine year old wants to phone."

Mrs Cottrell said she believed the safety aspect of her son having a phone outweighed any potential health concerns.

"It's especially important when your kids get to nine or ten because they want to have more freedom and go further," she said. "They should be able to play out in safety, and having a phone helps.

"The potential health problems don't worry me. He doesn't use his phone that often and, when he does, it's mainly for games and texting. His phone is rarely anywhere near his ears."

Fourteen-year-old Ed and his friends, who regularly meet up in York's Parliament Street to go skateboarding, have all had mobile phones since primary school.

"Everyone has got one," he said. "I don't use mine that often, but I always have it with me if I'm coming into town just in case I miss the bus or something.

"My phone is a good one, but it's pretty basic. Most of my friends have got really hi-tech phones though. They've got them mainly for the pictures and video, not actually calling anyone. I don't think any of us really thinks about the health concerns."

Andrew and Brien, both 14 and on their way to a phone shop in Coney Street, York, to check out the latest handsets, were equally as unconcerned about potential risks. For them, it's all about getting a 'top spec' phone.

"We've both had phones for ages, since primary school," said Andrew. "We pay for them ourselves by doing jobs. It's expensive because the really top spec ones - those are the ones we like - are about £200, but it's worth it.

"It's not really about making phone calls, it's about texting and games and music."

Robert, 13, and his friends Luke and Callum, both 12, are also phone fans who use their handsets everyday, often several times a day.

"The health stuff isn't a problem if you're texting, is it?" said Robert. "You hold the phone in your hands; it doesn't go anywhere near your head. I don't know what all the fuss is about."

Reaction to the Stewart Report into mobile phone safety

Health minister Rosie Winterton: "There are parents who feel that they want children to have mobile phones for other safety reasons, but we are quite clear that they ought to be very careful.

"At the moment, we have issued guidance to say that certainly there needs to be a precautionary approach to use of mobile phones amongst young people."

Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association: "The precautionary approach is accepted by the industry and we have put a whole range of things in place to make sure it does happen.

"The operators reviewed their internal marketing policies and agreed five years ago not to market their products to under-16s. This is about precaution, not established risk. It is about parental choice and responsibility.

"We always take the advice of the NRPB and other health authorities very seriously, but there are other reports around the world which don't say there is a risk."

Harrogate MP Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat chairman of the All Party Mobile Communications Group: "Sir William Stewart's appeal to the Government to take a precautionary approach to the use of mobile phones and the siting of masts has so far fallen on deaf ears.

"There is an urgent need for Government-supported research into the biological effects of phones and masts and for a more rigorous education programme for consumers.

"Tax breaks for companies that provide mobile phones to employees and their families should be ended and the use of safe, fixed phones encouraged until more research is concluded.

"Parents must be encouraged to limit the use of mobiles by their children and to encourage the use of other devices to play music or receive messages."

Adam Stephenson, marketing director of Commun8, which launched the first mobile phone specifically aimed at four to eight year olds: "We launched the product because we thought it could address security concerns of parents. We absolutely do not want to damage children's health.

"We have decided to suspend sales of the MyMo pending a chance to look at the Stewart Report in detail."

Updated: 16:40 Wednesday, January 12, 2005