Should Shropshire's public phone boxes stay or go?

"It doesn't get an awful lot of use, but you only need it to be needed once," said Andy Munro of All Stretton, a village in rural Shropshire.

He was talking about the village's red phone box, one of 61 public phone boxes still in service in the county and under consultation for removal.

There are differing views as to whether the phone boxes, 19 of them the old-style red K6 box, should stay or go.

In Colebatch, residents want theirs to house a defibrillator.

It has not been used for three years and local mayor Grant Perry said a defibrillator was "top of the list" of new uses.

Under the "adopt a kiosk" scheme, decommissioned boxes have previously been fitted out as libraries, coffee shops and miniature art galleries.

But Mr Munro, from Church Stretton Town Council, said All Stretton still had a need for its box.

"This is a very rural location and yet we do get an awful lot of visitors and there are occasional emergencies up on the hills, or indeed with motor vehicles on the A49," he said.

Similarly, people in Cockshutt, near Ellesmere, said "poor" mobile phone signal meant the town's pay phone provided a lifeline in case of emergencies.

"You have to position yourself in your house to get a signal," said Ian Webb from the village.

The 61 phones are being reviewed out of a total of 175 currently operational in the county. Most of them are in particularly rural areas.

Shropshire Council said as a predominantly rural county it is objecting to the removal, and Lois Dale from the authority, said it was particularly keen to hear about issues with mobile phone coverage.

The consultation concludes on 5 August.

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