COMMUNITY leaders in Purbeck say they will fight to keep phone boxes that are earmarked for removal.

As reported in the Daily Echo, BT announced it was reviewing 19 kiosks in the district, many of which are in rural areas.

It said there had been a huge drop in demand, due largely to increased mobile phone use, and that about half of the boxes in Purbeck were used for only a single call each month. Some had seen no calls made in the past year.

Robert Hyde, chairman of Wool Parish Council, said there were only three phone boxes left in the area. Two have been listed for removal by BT. He said it appeared one at the station - the most vital in the village - was earmarked for closure. Mr Hyde said the council would at least fight to make sure that kiosk was kept.

"We have to live with the times and appreciate that people have mobile phones, but we would make a strong case if we could that we need at least one, and certainly by the railway station," he said.

In Purbeck's towns, one phone box in Swanage is listed for removal and in Wareham three are threatened with the chop. Wareham town mayor Cllr Malcolm Russell said: "I think we have reduced it to an absolute minimum and we would like to hold onto what we have now. We would still like to keep some presence and we will fight to keep that."

A BT spokesman said residents could raise issues through Purbeck District Council, which is handling the consultation and feeding res-ponses back to them. He said if there is a clear social need for any of these payphones, then they won't be removed."

  • Hit list

The phone boxes marked for closure are at Sunnyside, West Lulworth; West Morden, two in East Morden, Bloxworth, East Stoke, two in Wool, Coombe Keynes, two in Corfe Castle, Stoborough Green, East Holme, one in Swanage, three in Wareham and one at both Affpuddle and East Knighton.