An old-style red telephone box looks set to return to a Kent village – with a new life-saving role.

Hollingbourne’s parish council has applied for planning permission to install the iconic K6 kiosk on Tanyard Green in Eyhorne Street.

But the phone box will not be used to make calls – rather it will house a publicly accessible defibrillator.

The life-saving devices apply an electric charge to the heart and can save lives after a cardiac arrest.

They are relatively easy to use, but the window in which they can be effective is measured in minutes, so easy access is essential.

The parish’s plans are at a very early stage. They need first to obtain planning permission from Maidstone council, before taking the decision to go ahead.

The selected spot, next to a public bench and opposite Hasteds, lies just outside the Hollingbourne Conservation Area, but is close to two listed buildings.

The phone box is currently in the private ownership of a Hollingbourne resident.

The popular K6 kiosks have been re-purposed for many uses.

At one point there were at least 400, but thanks to the introduction of mobile phones only around 25 remain and there have been determined efforts to ensure no more are culled.

They are already being used to house defibrillators in West Malling, Aylesford, Broadstairs, Lydd and New Romney

While kiosks in Whitstable, Chartham and Bearsted now house mini-libraries.

There is even one in Rolvenden Layne that has been converted to a “sound museum”, where people can hear tales about village life in years gone by recorded by some of the older residents.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, go to publicnoticeportal.uk

For details of the Eyhorne Street planning application, click here and look for application number 23/504348.

The village already has three defibrillator machines, one outside the Windmill Village Hall on Windmill Lane, one in the car park of the Dirty Habit pub and one at Hollingbourne Primary School.

In addition, Network Rail has a defibrillator at Hollingbourne Railway Station.