ALMOST 200 public telephone boxes are set to be taken away from the streets of Kent.

British Telecom has confirmed that a total of 184 payphones are likely to go as part of a national review of public telephone usage.

The company says the growth in the use of mobile phones means fewer are needed, but it will maintain 278 loss-making callboxes in the county to ensure communities still have access to a payphone.

Paul Hendron, director of BT payphones, said: "We recognise that people have concerns about our plans to reduce the number of payphones, but I would like to reassure them that BT is still committed to the service, particularly for the communities who need it most.

"We will manage the changes sensitively through extensive consultation with local representatives."

BT wants to remove 11 of its 148 kiosks in the borough of Maidstone, 15 of 120 in Tonbridge and Malling, 14 of 125 in Tunbridge Wells and 13 of 134 in Swale.

It says it will consult with district, parish, town and community councils about the plans and will also place notices in the telephone boxes facing the axe.

There will still be a total of 1,703 phone boxes in the county if all of the proposed closures go ahead.

Statistics show that the number of calls from BT payphones has almost halved in the last three years, leading to a revenue drop of 40 per cent.

Mr Hendron added: "Getting the balance between commercial pressures and retaining loss-making payphones that provide an essential service is difficult, but we believe we are getting it right."

Mr Hendron spoke to KM-fm earlier...