Chance to adopt a Horsham district red phone box for just £1

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Community groups across the Horsham district have the chance to adopt a local BT phone box for just £1 to turn them into something inspirational for their local area.

There are 11 phone boxes in the district available for adoption and BT will also consider adoption requests to house defibrillators in more modern boxes.

Already, more than 780 payphones have been adopted by communities in the South-East since 2008.

A campaign was launched in 2016 to save iconic red telephone boxes in towns and villages throughout Sussex.

Members of Sussex Heritage Trust said at the time that the much-loved K6 public phone box - a distinctive feature of the British landscape for decades - was increasingly under threat.

In this latest move, BT says it will continue to provide electricity (if already in place) to power the light for adopted kiosks, free of charge to communities.

In a statement this week BT say that where electricity is available, adopted boxes can be used as housings for defibrillators – an increasingly popular and potentially life-saving conversion.

Other new ventures include conversions to mini-libraries, miniature art museums, cake shops and information centres.

One payphone in Devon was even turned into the ‘world’s smallest nightclub’.

Commenting on the latest initiative, Katherine Bradley, BT’s Senior Payphones Commercial and Operations Manager, said: “We’re pleased to be giving even more local communities the chance to adopt a phone box.

“With more than 780 payphones already adopted across the South-East, this is a fantastic opportunity for communities to own a piece of history.