A STUDY that concluded there was no evidence to establish a link between RAF Fylingdales and cancer cases has been labelled "shallow and hasty" by objectors.

Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust (PCT) worked with the Northern and Yorkshire Cancer Registry and Information Service (NYCRIS) to produce an epidemiological investigation of cancer registrations between 1991 and 2000.

The report, which was released on Friday, was ordered because of the escalating concerns of people living nearby that radio waves from the base caused disease.

Councillor John Clark, who failed in an effort to have Ryedale District Council establish an inquiry into the base, said the report was "shallow and hasty" and was amazed that it had been completed in only three months.

"I'm just saying that you can't produce a report like that in such a short space of time," said Coun Clark. "It is too hasty and not thorough. There research does not support a statement that the radio waves have a harmful effect, but it doesn't disprove it either."

Coun Clark said the report's findings seemed to suggest that because the frequency of cancer cases were either equal or less to those other wards, that living near Fylingdales was actually beneficial to health. Coun Clark said research the report was based on must be flawed.

Fylingdales Action Group campaigner Jackie Fearnley said: "It should be emphasised that it is a very preliminary report. It can be used as a baseline. I hope that a way will be found to rigorously monitor the health of people living around the base and working at it.

"I'm not trying to make people feel alarmed, all I want to do is know that we are keeping a very close eye on what's going on.

"I think one of the important things we can do almost immediately is to get proper measurements of the radio waves, knowing that there is more and more evidence building up about what affects they have on people."

The mother-of-six, aged 53, said she agreed with the PCT that it needed to work on preventative health measures and she hoped that it would be keeping a watching brief on the progress of further studies.

Derek Bartrop, head of patient and public involvement at the PCT, said the study was not "shallow and hasty" and in fact had been approved as appropriate by Dr Jill Meara, deputy director of the National Radiological Protection Board. He said the PCT had explicitly recommended further studies, but it was not its role to carry them out because the PCT had to focus on confirmed health risks like smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet.

Updated: 08:38 Wednesday, December 03, 2003