THE last of Wiltshire's public payphone boxes could be removed in the near future.

British Telecom is planning to take away the 71 public payphones left across Wiltshire.

BT say that only 31 calls were made from them in the last 12 months.

They have written to Wiltshire Council as part of a formal consultation process asking for their removal.

All will be removed unless towns and villages make an appeal before January 28.

BT said: “Overall use of payphones has declined by over 90 per cent in the last decade."

"The need to provide payphones for use in emergency situations is diminishing all the time, with at least 98 per cent of the UK having either 3G or 4G coverage.

“This is important because as long as there is network coverage, it’s now possible to call the emergency services, even when there is no credit or no coverage from your own mobile provider.”