Bryn Roberts is restoring an old phonebox at his Stirchley home

Enthusiasts across Shropshire have been busy saving the iconic red phone box by restoring them and finding new uses in their gardens.

The once-loved British street feature is now disappearing from Shropshire’s rural roadsides but as reported in the Shropshire Star earlier this week, many boxes are being give a new lease of life. John Lakelin, of Habberley Road, Pontesbury, bought his phone box in 1990 when he saw contractors trying to take it away.

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He said he was determined the phone box would not leave the village.

“I have got a retail milk business in Pontesbury and I happened to be going along one morning and they were taking the box down,” he said. “I asked what they were going to do with it and if there was any chance I could buy it. 

“It’s been in Pontesbury all its life so why take it from here? It was at the bottom of Pontesbury Hill.”

The phone box has been in Mr Lakelin’s garden ever since.

He said: “I have had tomatoes in it and I have kept it restored. I have even had one or two people asking to use it. It’s a bit of old Pontesbury and it’s a talking point.”

Mr Lakelin said he paid £100 plus VAT for his box. 

Bryn Roberts, of Grange Farm View, Stirchley village, rescued his phone box for £470 about four months ago.

He said: “I think it’s a bit of British history. I remember playing in them as a kid and thought it would be a nice garden feature. 

“I use it to put my tools in. I may even put a phone in it so if the phone rings in the house, I can still hear it in the garden.”

In Acton Burnell, villagers have been allowed by BT to keep their box on as an architectural feature after it was named as one considered for removal.

James White, parish councillor for the village, said: “BT said they’ve got a lot of parish councils taking the kiosks on, so it could take a while to sort out, but it’s in hand.”

But residents who fought to keep the facility will be disappointed they will no longer be able to make calls.

“It will be an architectural feature and, I suggest, somewhere to wait for the bus out of the rain,” Mr White said.

By Rebecca Lawrence