US scientist Lloyd Morgan said cases of brain cancer could rise 25 fold in the future and predicted there would not be enough trained surgeons to help victims.
"I predict a tsunami of brain tumours," he said. "I do not think we will see the beginning of it for 10 or maybe 15 years but, once it explodes, it could be devastating.
"We could see anything between an increase of four times and 25 times. And unless we train more neurosurgeons now, a great many people will not be able to have surgery."
Mr Morgan, of America's Environmental Health Trust pressure group, said safety measures needed to be put in place immediately.
He said: "Mobiles are like cars - they are not safe, although they can be made safe enough. If you hold a mobile just six inches from your head, the radiation is 10,000 times smaller. Manufacturers should make them hands-free only so you cannot hold one to your ear.
"Children should not be allowed to use them at all. There is a lot of evidence they are more affected by radiation."
Mr Morgan made his controversial comments after presenting a paper warning that a landmark study into mobile phone use released last month had got its results wrong.
The Interphone study, which brought together scientists from 13 countries under the World Health Organisation, found no significant link between shortterm mobile use and cancer, and a slight link in the long term. And confusingly it found in some cases mobiles DECREASED the risk of tumours.
But Mr Morgan said the way the results were analysed meant the true risks were ignored and claimed they were actually 25 per cent higher than the report said.
Under his analysis, presented to a conference last week in Seoul, South Korea, the risk of the most common brain tumour, a glioma, doubles if you use a mobile just once a week for 10 years.
Cancer Research UK has described Mr Morgan's analysis as "overblown" and said there was no evidence brain tumour rates had risen since the use of mobiles had become widespread.
However, his comments come as Britain starts a 30-year project to monitor the health of 100,000 mobile users.
Scientists from London's Imperial College will try to find links between mobile use and a huge range of health problems, including tumours.
At Christmas, the Sunday Mirror revealed the radiation levels of Britain's most popular phones and dsicovered that some pump out as much as three times more radiation than other models TEXT, DON'T CALL..
Mobiles have been linked to an increase in brain tumours, although there is no conclusive evidence.
They contain transmitters which send out waves in all directions , including some into the user's heads.
Britain's official advice is for under-16s to limit mobile use to essential calls. But hardly anyone knows about the guidelines and children as young as eight have handsets.
Children are at greater risk than adults because they have thinner skulls and their brains are still growing. Watchdogs say parents should tell children not to hold phones to their ear and to encourage them to text rather than call.
Print Info In Shop Britain should follow the example of America and display radiation levels next to handsets in stores, an expert said last night.
Last week San Francisco became the first to introduce the new law, which forces stores to show emission levels so the pubic can compare them. And California has ruled mobile radiation levels will have to be displayed on posters in shops.
In Britain manufacturers must reveal the figures - but they are buried in manuals. Graham Philips of mobile campaign group Powerwatch said: "Anyone buying a mobile should know about these figures."
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