THE telephone box, with its distinctive red paintwork, has long been regarded as a British icon.

And now an unused phone box in Penycae has been saved by community councillors for just £1.

Penycae Community Councillors voted to pay £1 to BT Payphones to adopt the traditional feature in the Tainant area of Penycae.

Community councillor Adrian Bennett said the increase in technology, particularly with mobile phones, has meant the phone box is no longer used.

“It’s a little bit of heritage and has been a part of the village for many years,” he said.

“In those days it was always handy because we didn’t have phones in houses and needed something in an emergency.

“But times have moved on and with the increase in technology and mobile phones it has made the phone box redundant.”

Cllr Bennett added: “It has been a feature there a long time and it’s set in a beautiful place and looks lovely especially in the summer with the green trees and hedges around it.

“We wanted to save it.

“Getting rid of it would be like pulling a tooth out.”

Penycae Community Council Clerk Susan Hallard said: “I think it’s nice to keep it as it’s part of our history.

“The phone equipment will be taken out of it and we’ll have to decide if we put anything in it.”

Across the country hundreds of phone boxes which are no longer used have been adopted by local communities.

Recently some of the phone boxes, including one in Bridge Street in Chester, have been converted into cash machines.

Other more unusual uses have been made for the traditional red box including a heart defibrillator machine to be fitted inside a redundant BT phone box in Gloucestershire.

What do you think could be put in the Penycae phonebox?

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