Red phone box sells at auction for £8k

A Grade II listed red phone box has sold at auction for £8,000 with the new owner hoping to put a defibrillator inside.

The box outside the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford town centre, Surrey, was brought by local businessman Matt Gaskin.

He said he was also hoping to put a 999 button inside the box, which would stay in its current location.

Robert Woolfe, from auctioneer Strettons, said: "These telephone boxes represent an iconic symbol of British history and are well known for their classic appearance."

Before the auction he added: "It is well located and may suit a variety of potential uses (subject to planning) such as advertising, coffee shop, ice cream, florist, vending machine or even a mini art gallery.

"They are proving popular since being recently launched and it will be exciting to see what happens at the auction."

In 2018, Guildford Borough Council gave planning permission to remove the handset from the box and make it a self-contained retail unit.

Two other red phone boxes in Canterbury in Kent were also sold at auction on Thursday for £17,000.

In January, a phone box in Bath, which appears on a path made famous by Jane Austen, was purchased by a charity for £1.

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