Poll: Should red telephone boxes be kept even if they make a loss?

They are an icon of Britain and have for years been a lifeline for thousands – but the days of the traditional phone box are numbered.

But BT today revealed plans to axe more than 70 phone boxes across Shropshire.

The company says the advent of mobile phones means that many of the kiosks have had fewer that 10 calls made from them in the last 12 months.

It says that the maintenance of the kiosks is a drain on resources and wants to remove 75 in the county and on its border next year.

The move will mean the end of a number of traditional red boxes as well as more modern silver kiosks.

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BT says it would be in favour of all phone companies contributing to a fund to ensure the payphone network was maintained for the people who depended on them.

Around 40 of the iconic red phone boxes were protected last year by English Heritage as listed buildings.

But the red kiosk is fast disappearing, with more than 33,000 disappearing nationally in towns and villages over the last decade because mass use of mobile phones has made them obsolete. Today's announcement comes following a decision last year to axe 1,000 boxes nationally.

Those set to disappear will either be scrapped or sold on as novelty gifts. A number of private companies take on the red boxes, restore them and sell them to people who want an unusual garden decoration.

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