Ross Town Councillors unanimously voted to oppose BT’s plan to remove a telephone box from outside John Kyrle High School as it could be a life line for a child.

BT reported that there had been 39 calls made from the phone box and none of them had been to the emergency services.

Councillor David Ravenscroft raised the possibility that the phone box was insurance for any child stranded after school, possibly without a mobile phone to be able to contact home. Councillor Julian Utting added that a phone box could also be a safer alternative to a mobile phone for a child making a call to an agency such as childlike. He said that although none of the 39 calls were to the emergency services there was no indication if any were to Childline or a similar organisation.

Councillor Phil Cutter added that if BT did go ahead with removing the phone, perhaps other uses could be explored for the box itself.

The Councillors agreed that they would object to the proposal on safeguarding grounds due to the location of the phone box, outside a very large school.