A parish council says “lives could be put at risk” if its village payphone is removed.

It comes as BT has been consulting with Swale council on the proposed removal of three of Sheppey’s 10 call boxes, which are among the least used in the county.

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Those under consultation are in Blue Town High Street, next to the roundabout junction with Brielle Way; in Sheerness, opposite Sheerness Police Station in Millennium Way; and Minster, close to the Leas in The Broadway.

According to the phone company just one call is made per month, on average, at the Blue Town and Minster phone boxes, while 19 are made at the Sheerness phone box.

The Kent average is just less than three calls a week per payphone – and that is just below the national average.

However, Minster-on-Sea Parish Council “strongly opposes” the removal of its box.

Speaking on behalf of the council, clerk Trish Hamilton said: “The lack of adequate mobile telephone cover in the area means lives could be put at risk if the facility is removed.

“This is supported by evidence showing regular call outs of the emergency services to that location when individuals including children and families run into difficulties in the water or become stuck in the mud.

“The majority of incidents to date report having no mobile telephone reception or limited reception when seeking help and it has been usually left to passers-by to seek help by dialling 999 using the facility in question.”

She added: “Equally importantly, the demographic most likely to be affected includes the people living close by, particularly under the 10-months occupancy conditions at holiday parks where the risk of flooding is designated as serious by the Environment Agency.

“Removing this facility presents as a serious public safety risk to those residents and their visitors.

“For these reasons and more, the council insists on this facility remaining in place.”

A BT spokesman explained: “With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, it’s led to a huge drop in the number of calls made from payphones. At the same time, mobile coverage has improved significantly in recent years due to investment in masts.

“There are many payphones that see no calls made from them each month. So, we’re giving communities the chance to decide how best they can use their local phone box.”

He added: “We’re consulting with Swale council on the proposed removal of the three payphones.

“If the council says there is still a need for a payphone service, or wants to adopt the box, it will stay.”

If the payphones end up staying, it is quite clear from the look of them that they need to be better maintained.

The one in Blue Town has weathered windows, is covered in graffiti and has weeds growing inside, while the one in The Broadway, Minster, has no door, a ceiling compartment hanging open, no light and mouldy windows. The kiosk in Millennium Way, however, is well kept.

Communities can adopt a kiosk if they are a recognised public body, such as a parish council, community council or town council.

Boxes can also be adopted by registered charities, or by individuals who have a payphone on their own land.

BT said it would continue to provide electricity, if already in place, to power the light for adopted phone boxes, free of charge, and where electricity is available, adopted boxes can be used as housings for defibrillators.

For details on how to apply to Adopt a Kiosk, click here. The consultation closed on Monday.

Is it the end of an era for payphones?

According to BT, the era of payphones is drawing to a close as it has seen their use continue to fall over the decades.

But, although it might be a completely foreign concept for today’s youngsters to imagine life without a mobile phone, some half a century ago it was a different story.

For those too young to remember, to make a call then, you entered the box - quite a task as the doors were really heavy - checked your appearance in the convenient little mirror above the receiver, and then looked up your number in the unvandalised pull-out in-kiosk directory.

The next step was to insert your pennies into the slot, dial the number and when the telephone was picked up at the other end you pressed button A.

Your money would then drop through to a cash box and your call was connected.

If your call wasn’t answered you would press button B and your money would be returned.

If you couldn’t find the number, you could go through the operator.

Even in early ‘90s, nights out would often end in a public phone box. Without texts or WhatsApp to request a lift home, youngsters would go out armed with a few five and 10ps, or those new-fangled 20 pence pieces in order to call home.

And it didn’t even matter if you had forgotten to take out some change, as you could make reverse charge calls.

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