Fix our red phone box, town begs BT

Residents in a Shropshire town today called for their red phone box to be fixed - two months after thieves stole the handset from it.

They said that the traditional red phone box in Bishop's Castle was a lifeline for tourists because the mobile signal was so bad in the area. But Bishop's Castle mayor, Keith Pinches, said despite repeated requests to BT asking them to come and replace the handset, the box remains an empty shell.

He said: "It is sad because there are a lot of people asking me about it. We need it because of course a lot of tourists need it. They don't really get a signal round here.

"It is not just the tourists, it is for the locals as well because not everybody has got a phone in their house in Bishop's Castle, it is surprising how many. You tend to think everybody's got a mobile.

"People did use it a lot more than they realise."

Mr Pinches said: "It has got a preservation order on it anyway. I think it is sad that they changed them. That was a tried and tested design. They go on forever and everybody knows what to look for."

Councillor Jane Carroll said: "Keith is quite right. The only two mobile signals you can get in Bishop's Castle are Orange and Vodafone.

"It is really annoying not to have a call box and the box in the High Street is listed. I always presumed it meant it would be a working phone. They certainly can't take the phone box away.

"You don't see them at all in the big towns and cities and they are a bit of an endangered species but they are necessary. People don't think so, but they are on occasions."

Emma Tennant, for BT, confirmed that considerable damage was done to the kiosk and it was reported to the firm on March 16.

She said: "We are planning to replace the equipment. Unfortunately there has been a slight delay in the replacement and we are hoping it will arrive and it will be completed in the next week or two.

"We are really sorry for the inconvenience. We are trying to get it sorted as quickly as we can but it is taking longer than we hoped."

By Sophie Bignall