PLANS to ring the changes and remove public phone boxes from Ponteland have been supported by the town council.

Town councillors were in general agreement at their meeting last week to support the removal of the BT phone boxes.

BT is proposing to remove dozens of phone boxes across the county and consulted Ponteland Town Council about the loss of three of them.

The phone boxes under threat are in Prestwick, North Road and Thornhill Road.

Councillors were sent data for two of them which showed that the phone box on North Road had been used 107 times in the past 12 months, while the one on Thornhill Road had been used 15 times.

Councillors were told that another phone box in Capheaton had not been used once over the last 12 months.

Speaking at the meeting, town and county councillor Richard Dodd said: “The red phone boxes look attractive; these ones do not.

“BT has to pay for the upkeep of them when most people these days have a mobile phone. I would say they are a thing of the past.”

Other town councillors agreed, with Coun. Christine Greenwell stating that the one in Prestwick often attracts vandalism.

She said: “It is sometimes smelly, damaged and has bricks put through.”

Mayor, Coun. Carl Rawlings, said: “I think we are in agreement that the removal of the phone boxes will discourage vandalism and clean up street clutter.

“They seem to be a thing of the past and we are broadly in support of their removal.”