It is understood the TV troubles began as the controversial equipment — the subject of a planning wrangle and an 800-signature petition citing health concerns — became operational.

“The mast went up in mid-April, and since then I’ve had no reception of either the BBC or Grampian,” said one householder.

“One of my neighbours was in the same boat, so he called an aerial installer, who said the TETRA mast was the problem and that a filter would have to be fitted.

“I have since been told the same. It looks like I’m going to have to pay for a filter to be put in, and the estimate is £50.”

Communications watchdog OFCOM confirmed that, as the mast is operating within set guidelines, it will be up to viewers to foot the bill for remedial work.

A spokesman said, “It is very likely, from our point of view, that the TETRA mast is causing the problem here. This is going on in various limited locations across the UK.

“This affects people who have put in some sort of amplifier on their aerial installation.

“Unfortunately, the TETRA signal gets caught up in the amplifier and creates interference which affects the TV signal.

“It is very easy to resolve by fitting a filter, and it falls to the viewer to pay for that work. It is not particularly expensive — the typical cost of the filter is about £17, then there’s the work on top of that.”

The spokesman said OFCOM was often asked why it was the viewer who had to foot the bill rather than TETRA, even though they had no problems with their signal before a mast was installed.

He continued, “The easy answer to that is that TETRA is operating within the terms of the licence we gave them.

“Those terms include operating at certain frequencies and power levels, and other things, and if they are sticking to them, then both they and we see no reason why they should have to pay.

“We thought long and hard about this, but it is the viewer that will have to pay for the remedial work.”

The TV disruption is the latest controversy to surround the mast installation, which sits atop the Telephone Exchange building in Queen Street.

Planning permission for the permanent equipment was granted on appeal in February, following a refusal by councillors in Dundee.

Crown Castle (UK) Ltd sought permission for two Airwave mm02 antennae and one GPS antenna mounted on the rooftop of the exchange building, with ancillary equipment.

The masts are to meet the needs of the police and public safety organis-ations. Crown Castle said without the masts there would be a lack of coverage in most of central Broughty Ferry, and there were no other available sites for them.

Hundreds of people signed a petition opposing the development, many worried about the possible health risks of electro-magnetic emissions.

Crown Castle was asked to comment, but had not done so at the time of going to Press.