Telephone boxes saved (From Warrington Guardian)

Telephone boxes saved

RED telephone boxes in Frodsham have been saved from being torn down but only in the short term.

It was announced at the last town council meeting, in a letter from British Telecom, that the red telephone boxes in Main Street, Bellemonte Road, The Quay and Hayes Crescent have been taken off its removal list.

However, according to the letter the telephones could be put back on the list at a later date if BT decides to review the situation.

Councillor Lance Yates is particularly pleased with this result as he campaigned for the pay phones to stay.

BT contacted the town council about its plans to remove the phones last summer, which raised safety concerns as it was highlighted that contrary to belief, not everybody owns mobile phones.

In response, Clr Yates stressed the importance of the public phones, especially for use in emergencies, and set up a petition.

He also urged residents to contact BT and lodge their support for the phone boxes.

Speaking about the decision this week, Clr Yates said: "I want to thank everybody who supported this - it shows that public petitions do work and can force people's hands.

"But we will have to keep an eye on them because this is not for definite and BT will come back to us at a future date if they want to remove them."