BT says many of its public phone boxes are running at a loss

BT wants to close 255 phone boxes in the county to cut costs.

It says calls made from telephone boxes have halved in the past three years as more people use mobile phones.

But Cumbria Tourist Board Chairman Eric Robson said the telephone boxes provide a vital service on some of the most difficult roads in the country.

Remote places

Among the phone boxes set to be axed is one in the remote area around Cockley Beck at the end of England's steepest road over Hardknott Pass.

BT installed the phone 20 years ago as a result of pressure from local residents after the company featured the location in one of its adverts.

Mr Robson said: "We are not fighting for every one of these telephone boxes and I am quite prepared to accept that, in particular, some urban boxes are no longer being used because people have got mobile phones now.

"But in places like Cockley Beck that are very remote places we think they should stay for reasons of public safety.

"Mobile phone signals do not exist for 10 miles around that box, and, in places where there is no mobile phone reception, there is a public safety requirement."