The mother of a nine-year-old boy with autism has said it was heartbreaking when she saw the four new green telecom boxes in Royston had ruined his view from the bench he liked to sit on to watch cars.

The four boxes were installed at the end of August alongside the one box that was already there, completely blocking the view.

Lucy Gregorios Smith said: “Samuel loves watching cars, buses and tractors and it was his favourite place to sit and watch them all go by.

“I usually take him to the gardens and my husband sits with him while I play with our other two children.

“He sent me the picture of Samuel and the boxes, and it was heartbreaking to see.”

Lucy said it’s sad that the decision was made to go ahead and install them in front of the bench.

“There are other places we can go to watch cars, but that’s not the point,” she said.

“I don’t know why someone thought it would be a good idea to put the boxes right in front of a bench.”

The Crow can now confirm the mobile boxes were installed to benefit Three and EE mobile networks in the area.

When approached, a spokeswoman for EE said: “Following a period of public consultation, we can confirm that planning permission was granted to upgrade existing telecommunications equipment which allows EE customers in the area to enjoy an even more reliable service, and superfast 4G speeds.”

And a spokesman for Three said: “The council approved the installation of the cabinets as part of our plans to improve access to 3G and 4G for our customers in the area.”