End of the line as more than 20 Shropshire phone kiosks are axed

But public protests will see another 40 plus saved - with five more set to be adopted by their local communities.

Many of the phone boxes that were proposed to be removed had had fewer than 10 calls made from them in a 12-month period.

Boxes going:

Those that are going to be taken away include: Pipe Gate, Four Alls and The Grove at Hodnet, near Market Drayton; Treflach, Park Hall, Ifton Heath at St Martins near Oswestry; Upton Magna, Dorrington and Bicton near Shrewsbury; Kinlet, Hopton Wafers, Seifton, Clee Hill, Knowbury, Oreton in the south of the region; Shipton and Bourton near Much Wenlock; Albrighton; Wem; Shawbury; Ruyton-XI-Towns; Higher Heath near Whitchurch and Benthall, Broseley.

Boxes staying:

Phone boxes that are to be saved are: Bitterley, Wentnor, Clunbury, Clunton, Abdon, Craven Arms, Soudley, All Stretton, Little Stretton, Longville, Minton Marshbrook, in the south of the county.

Queens Head, Twmpath Lane near Gobowen, Hengoed, Knockin, Knockin Heath, Kinnerley, Chirk Bank and Morda Road all in the Oswestry area.

Pontesbury, Yockleton, Aston Rogers, Weston

Lullingfields and Claverley Road, Shrewsbury;

The phone company says the maintenance of the kiosks is a drain on resources.

Last year BT proposed that more than 70 phone boxes in the area be removed. However, after consultation with parish councils the company has agreed to keep 43 of the kiosks.

Councillor Colin Case, from Ruyton-XI-Towns, said the parish council had looked at the figures for the use of its phone box and felt it had no choice but to agree to its removal.

"Sadly, it is a sign of the times," he said.

Three red phone boxes are to be taken out of use but the kiosk will be retained by the community. They are at Bushmoor and Acton Scott near Church Stretton, Easthope at Much Wenlock, and Prees and Ightfield near Whichurch.

Emma Tennant, from BT, said: "The adoption scheme was set up in consultation with English Heritage, in response to local communities – typically villages – who acknowledged they no longer used their – often red – phone box but had got used to having it on the village green."

The parish council can adopt it from BT which takes out the phone mechanism, but the council gets to keep and maintain the structure still connected to the electricity network for lighting and then can use it for whatever it wants.

One of those being saved is a red kiosk on the Kinnerley Road in Knockin. Mr Charles Roberts who lives close by said he was delighted.

"With mobile phone signals so poor in rural areas these really could be a lifeline," he said.