Villagers see red over stripped-out phone kiosks

British Telecom is negotiating with local communities to see if they want to "adopt" red kiosks as cultural icons which could then be put to various uses.

However, the North York Moors National Park authority is concerned that BT does not jump the gun by removing the telephone services in villages where parish councils are not interested in the adoption scheme.

Officials are to underline further consultations are needed amid claims that poor rates of usage may be nothing to do with mobile phones, but because sometimes the kiosks are out of order.

Telecom officials claim many of these kiosks are not used much, if at all. But they want to give communities the chance to retain them. More than 300 have already been put to uses such as a small art gallery, meeting point and information point.

Adoption involves the removal of the telephone service at the kiosk and BT needs the go-ahead from the national park before it can do this.

Val Dilcock, National Park Chief Planning Officer, said: "BT make it clear that they will not remove any red kiosks that are not adopted at this stage. They will continue to monitor the use and costs of public call box provision and may consult for this purpose in future."

However, a number of parish councils have made clear to BT already they are more interested in keeping a working pay phone than retaining the box as a museum piece. Rievaulx Parish Council has told BT that a public telephone service in the village, much visited by tourists, is very important and an empty red phone box is no use to someone needing the emergency services.