THIS is the shocking moment a 5G mobile phone tower became engulfed in flames after being torched by bonkers “conspiracy nuts”.
The clip was taken just metres from the 60ft mast near Chaddesden, Derby, at around 8.15pm on Monday.
Emergency services scrambled to the inferno after residents living nearby reported seeing smoke and fire coming from the huge mast.
It is the second time it has been targeted by arsonists in less than 12 months.
So far cops have released footage of the latest fire, which is thought to have been started by conspiracy thugs, as they appealed for witnesses.
A Derbyshire Police spokesman said: “We are releasing footage of a fire at a phone mast in Derby as we appeal for witnesses to come forward.
“Fire crews alerted us to the incident, off the A61 Sir Frank Whittle Road, just after 8.15pm yesterday.
“The road was closed while they dealt with the fire, and for some time this morning while the area was made safe. It has now re-opened but the footpath which goes past the mast remains closed.
“While officers believe the mast may have been tampered with, the cause of the fire is indeterminate.
“We would like to speak to any witnesses or anyone who noticed anything suspicious just before or just after the incident.”
The latest fire comes after protesters previously made ridiculous claims that the masts cause health problems – including that the technology was linked to the spread of Covid.
The theory originated in March 2020 after a video filmed at a US health conference claimed Africa was not as affected by the disease because it is “not a 5G region”.
It prompted UK vandals to set masts in Birmingham, Liverpool and Merseyside on fire during the first lockdown.
At the time engineers were also targeted, with social media users encouraging each other to destroy the masts, in a bizarre Facebook group.
Senior minister Michael Gove slammed the conspiracy theory as “dangerous nonsense”.
Mr Gove claimed it was vitally important people were “knocking down this rubbish“, and warned spreading it put lives at risk.
He previously said: “The stories that have gone about that they spread the disease – that’s just nonsense, dangerous nonsense as well.”
The theory was debunked further when the World Health Organisation confirmed there were thousands of Covid-19 cases in Africa.
