Villagers fight to save 'underused' phone box

The phone box in Sharrington has been used fewer than 10 times in the past year

Villagers are fighting to save a phone box from disconnection, despite it being used fewer than 10 times in the past year

The kiosk in Sharrington, near Holt, is among a number of underused payphones in north Norfolk that BT believes are no longer needed.

Derek Harris, who lives in the village, said it should not be dismissed as a "relic of the past".

A BT spokesperson said: "With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, it's led to a huge drop in the number of calls made from payphones."

BT said maintaining and operating payphones costs millions of pounds each year

The company is consulting North Norfolk District Council over the potential disconnection of 10 phone boxes.

It said it had assessed a range of criteria, including location, usage, availability of other payphones and mobile signal, with coverage from all four mobile providers detected outside the phone box in Sharrington.

The local authority, which is able to make representations until 19 February, has objected to the removal of the phone box, citing "harm being caused to the appearance and character of the designated heritage asset".

Derek Harris said the phone should not be disconnected and the kiosk kept

Villagers had previously pleaded with BT to retain the phone box in 2016.

Mr Harris said it was "reminiscent of a former glorious age of this country".

He said: "We are hoping that they [BT] will see this is a duty of care not just for the heritage asset aspect of the kiosk, but also there are in this remote, sparsely populated area very elderly and vulnerable people, none of whom have iPhones and, some of them, not even landlines.

"It's too important to just dismiss as a relic of the past.

"It is very much a living part of this community's heritage and we wish to retain it."

BT said maintaining and operating payphones costs millions of pounds each year, money that could be invested in full fibre broadband and mobile networks.

It said it encouraged communities to "adopt" redundant kiosks, with thousands having been retained for uses including mini-libraries, defibrillator points and information hubs.