Service provider BT has decided to cut its losses and consign a huge number of its payphones to the scrapheap.

Nine of the landmark boxes in the Dunstable area have been earmarked for the chop.

BT cannot remove a public payphone if there is not another one within 400 metres without consulting with local authorities.

South Beds District Council has until September 6 to send a final notification to BT and the Secretary of State.

Parish and town councils have already been invited to comment.

In a notification letter to the district council, the telecommunications giant said: 'There are currently 61,792 public payphones in Great Britain, and 60 per cent of these no longer cover their costs.

'BT constantly needs to review payphone usage and on occasions looks to re-align the public payphone provision more closely to the reducing demand that still exists.'

For the full story, and a list of the payphones under threat, see the August 6 edition of the Dunstable Gazette, on sale at newsagents from Wednesday priced 40p.