London: For many they are essential to modern living. But mobile phones and the internet have made Stefanie Russell’s life a nightmare.

The grandmother is so sensitive to wireless internet signals that her health deteriorates as soon as she comes into contact with them.

Now Russell, 72, has spent £5,000 (Dh29,673) trying to keep out stray radiation from neighbours’ wifi and passing mobile users — by covering her home in anti-radiation paint.

She has had four thick coats of the protective material applied inside and out in the hope it will keep her home signal-free and allow her to enjoy life again. Miss Russell has also had her windows wifi-proofed and has bought a device that allows her to detect high levels of electromagnetic radiation.

She says she suffers from electrosensitivity, a condition which makes people sensitive to electrical fields. When exposed to radio waves emitted by certain devices, she experiences a pain in her head and feels generally unwell.

She first noticed the effects of the debilitating condition when she lived near a phone mast ten years ago. Recently she has started to feel the effects while shopping, on the bus or when gardening at her home in Steyning, West Sussex — and she blames it on the rapid rise in devices using wireless internet.

“I don’t touch the internet or email — it’s not safe,” she said, adding that even after spending thousands to wifi-proof her home, she feels she is “under house arrest”.

“The place feels totally different now but I am still very reluctant to go out. It is like a nightmare that I could never have made up. I feel so isolated at times. I find myself becoming a hermit. It feels like my retirement has been completely hijacked.” Visitors to her home are not allowed to bring any electronic devices inside as she says their signals cause her head to pulse.

Russell, who has four children and eight grandchildren, has not been diagnosed by a doctor but has told her GP about the problem.

Despite being recognised in other countries, such as Sweden and Canada, it is not acknowledged as a medical condition in Britain.

Doctors say there is little evidence to support a link between electromagnetic radiation and poor health. They claim the symptoms are psychosomatic.