ONLY three BT phone boxes on a list of 40 which were put forward for removal have been adopted by their communities.

East Lothian Council gave the green light for the removal of 35 phone boxes across the county, with just two kept in use and three adopted for alternative use after a public consultation.

Last week, vans were sent out to take away the last nine of the boxes marked for removal.

BT said it had consulted with the local authority and communities over retaining the phone boxes  before taking any action.

A spokesperson said: “Most people now have a mobile phone and calls made from our public telephones have fallen by around 90 per cent in the past decade.

“We consider a number of factors before consulting on the removal of payphones, including whether others are available nearby and usage.

“We consulted with East Lothian Council on the removal of 40 payphones and provided communities with the chance to comment on our proposals.

“If the council tell us they want a payphone to remain, we will keep it.

“As part of the consultation, we also offered communities the chance to adopt traditional red heritage phone boxes for just £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme.

“The need for payphones in emergencies is also reducing as 98 per cent of the UK has either 3G or 4G coverage. As long as there’s network coverage from at least one network, it’s possible to call 999, even when there’s no credit or no coverage from your own mobile provider.”

Out of 40 phone boxes earmarked for removal, the local authority indicated only two were to remain active: Eskside West, Musselburgh; and Bayswell Road, Dunbar.

Three were adopted by community groups in West Saltoun, Dirleton and Bolton.

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “Any decision on whether to remove a phone box is for BT to make.

“As part of its process, BT notifies the local community and the council of any proposal/intention to remove a phone box.

“The council’s role is to feed back any comments to BT from the local community.

“Phone boxes can be ‘adopted’ by local community or charity organisations.”

The consultation for the latest removals was launched last year.

BT said only nine working phone boxes in East Lothian had not been put forward for public consultation over their future.

In 2017, there were an estimated 69 working phone kiosks in the county.

Some phone boxes in the county have become iconic.

In East Linton, the phone box on Drylaw Street was removed; however, the one on the village’s High Street, which has category-B listed building status, was not on the list.

It is a well-known tourist attraction which dates back to 1935 and is often photographed by visitors.

Judith Priest, from Dunpender Community Council, said attempts had been made to adopt the High Street box, without success.

She said: “It’s a sorry sight and we would like to adopt it.

“It’s a popular box and visitors from abroad take their photos with it but it hasn’t been painted in years.”