Red phone boxes put up for adoption for £1

Thirty six red phone boxes are available to adopt across the West Midlands

Dozens of iconic red phone boxes are being offered up for adoption to communities across the West Midlands for £1 each.

Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1924, the first red phone box appeared on Britain's streets two years later.

Although their number and use has declined in recent years, many of them have already been repurposed by communities.

BT is making 36 phone boxes available to groups in the West Midlands.

Eighteen of them are in Shropshire, with two each in Coventry, Sandwell, Dudley, South Staffordshire and Telford and Wrekin.

There are also three in Lichfield and Stafford, and one in Solihull and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The adoption project, run by BT, is open to charities, community councils and local authorities.

More than 700 defibrillator stations in adopted phone boxes across the UK

Since the scheme started in 2008, 625 phone boxes have been taken on by communities across the region.

Some have been turned into mini libraries, art galleries, or museums, while many house defibrillators.

"To install defibrillators in disused phone boxes is ideal, as they're often in the centre of villages and towns and it means the iconic red phone box can remain a lifeline and focus for the community," said Martin Fagan, national secretary of the Community Heartbeat Trust charity.

'Big drop in payphone calls'

There are currently about 20,000 working payphones remaining across the UK, some 3,000 of which are in traditional red kiosks, BT said.

The number of phone boxes peaked in the 1990s at about 100,000.

"With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, and significant improvements to mobile coverage across the UK, we've continued to see a big drop in the number of calls made from payphones," Michael Smy, Head of Street at BT, said.

"That's why we're continuing to review our payphones estate, making sure we're prioritising the removal of those not being used, in line with Ofcom's latest guidance."