TWO payphones in Andover could be adopted by the town council to preserve a piece of history and adapt the use. 

The authority has proposed to adopt the boxes after BT, which currently maintains the boxes in the Harroway and Romans wards, is proposing to remove them. 

Ahead of the iconic red phone box turning 100 years of age, BT revealed that around 1,000 of its kiosks are currently up for grabs across the UK.

Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the first incarnation of the famous red phone box for a competition in 1924.

In recent years, however, with 98 per cent of the adult population now using a mobile phone, and significant improvements to mobile coverage, there has been a huge decline in the usage of payphones across the UK.

Communities can adopt most red boxes for just £1 and can also adopt modern glass boxes if they want to house a defibrillator. 

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Cllr Luigi Gregori, although not able to attend the committee meeting in person, expressed an interest in adopting the phone boxes and taking on the responsibility of maintaining them. This was a sentiment echoed by Cllr Thomas Gregory, who said: "If this is something we have the availability and capacity to do then I am very interested in doing this."

Cllr Richard Kidd expressed concern over how the phone boxes will be used. He said: "If I remember correctly, one of these payphones is on King Arthurs Way and was vandalised and has been left so for a long time, so I'm not certain there is a great deal of usage anyway."

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Cllr Gregory added: "It's something for us to consider, if these phone boxes are prone to vandalism that would be worth bearing in mind, should we decide that we would like to adopt them."

Cllr John Cockaday said: "I'm in favour of taking the payphones on, particularly if they can use the booths as stores for defibrillators in the community."

Cllr Kidd proposed the plan to adopt the phone booths, which was seconded by the other committee members. 

Michael Smy, head of street at BT, said: “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.

“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."