Police in Limburg are investigating the latest in a series of apparent arson attacks on telecoms masts.

The mast in Roermond is the 28th to be damaged by fire since April 3. Three people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, which police believe are the work of anti-5G activists.

The alarm was raised at around 1am on Monday. Police are investigating the incident as suspected arson but said the mast was not part of the 5G network.

Vodafone became the first Dutch network to start rolling out a 5G service at the end of April. Conspiracy theorists have shared films on social media claiming that the new generation of mobile phone services is being used to spread coronavirus, but there is no scientific evidence to support the notion.

A group of activists called Stop5GNL have gone to court to try to stop the roll-out of the network, arguing it is a ‘gamble with the health of the public’. The district court in The Hague is due to rule on their application on Monday.

The group recently issued a public statement distancing themselves from the arson attacks on telecom masts and stressing they do not support criminal activity.