THEY have been a red beacon on the British scenery for decades but increasing numbers of villages are buying up their phone box to preserve their chocolate box appearances.

Charney Bassett was in danger of losing its historic telephone box after BT said it was unprofitable.

But now councillors in the village have stepped forward to save the iconic kiosk from being scrapped after agreeing to adopt it – at the cost of just £1.

Parish council clerk Peter Davies, 73, said members felt the payphone, originally designed over 70 years ago – was an important part of the village scenery.

He said: “We couldn’t just let BT get rid of our phone box.

“It’s an icon in the village and people use it as a marker to give directions.

“It stands right in the middle of our village.

“Everyone knows it and visitors would probably get lost without it.

“I know it’s not used as much as it was because of mobile phones and things like that but that’s not the point, we want it to stay.”

The K6 (Kiosk 6) box was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936 to mark George V’s jubilee.

A note from BT posted on the box two weeks ago said it was to be removed because it was unprofitable.

The company has been removing its unprofitable phone boxes since 2002 because of the increasing use of mobile phones and email.

However, last year it launched a scheme where local authorities could ‘adopt’ a phone box for £1 after the phone had been removed.

They can also sponsor a kiosk for £300 annually, with the money going toward the maintenance and running costs of the payphone.

Since its launch, 370 phone boxes have been adopted and 50 sponsored.

Mr Davies added: “We don’t have lots of money so we cannot afford £300 a year.

“But we will adopt it and in the village we have a group of men, called the Charney Army, a sort of cross between Dad’s Army and Last of the Summer Wine, and they will help look after it.”

He added: “It’s important things like this are preserved to keep the village’s character.”

Parish councillor Mike Cox added: “Just after the Second World War the kiosks played a big part in people’s lives because they didn’t have phones.

“Also, they were important with boys and girls as they would be used for courting.”