THERE are 13 telephone boxes up for adoption in west Wales.

BT has revealed a list of 77 old phone boxes that are currently up for grabs by communities or just £1 and is a chance for communities to turn the iconic bits of British history into a benefit for the community.

Currently in Wales, there are 850 working payphones, with 260 in traditional red kiosks and of the unused kiosks, more than 500 phone boxes in Wales have been adopted by communities and turned into a range of things including little community libraries, defibrillator units, small art galleries and much more.

As the traditional red kiosk is set to celebrate 100 years since its 1924 inception after being designed in a competition by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, BT is urging communities to snap up a kiosk for £1. Currently, there are eight phone boxes available in Carmarthenshire, four in Pembrokeshire and one in Ceredigion up for adoption.

Michael Smy, head of street at BT, said: “With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, and significant improvements to mobile coverage across the UK, we’ve continued to see a big drop in the number of calls made from payphones.

“That’s why we’re continuing to review our payphones estate, making sure we’re prioritising the removal of those not being used, in line with Ofcom’s latest guidance.

“With the iconic red kiosk about to turn 100, it’s a great opportunity to remind communities that would still like to retain their local kiosk to take it on for just £1 through our adopt a kiosk scheme. We’ve already seen some great kiosk conversions across the UK that have become valuable community assets.”

There are around 20,000 working payphones in the UK, a steep decline from the 100,000 in the 1990s, but with around 98 per cent of the adult population now using a mobile phone, there has been a huge decline in the use of payphones. This is leading to BT to remove the payphones that are no longer being used, in line with rules set out by Ofcom.