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BT is selling them off to be used as libraries, mini museums or art galleries

Thousands of iconic red phone boxes are up for grabs for just £1 in a bid to help preserve their heritage in rural locations across the UK.

Following the growth of the mobile phone industry, BT is selling off 4,000 of the street phone boxes to communities to be used as libraries, food banks, mini museums, art galleries or even life-saving defibrillator stations.

The scheme — known as Adopt a Kiosk — is calling on local councils, parishes, town centres, registered charities and private land owners to transform the iconic boxes into spaces that will ultimately do good.

"With most people now using mobile phones, it's led to a huge drop in the number of calls made from pay phones," James Browne from BT told Sky News. "At the same time, mobile coverage has improved significantly in recent years due to investment in masts, particularly in rural areas.

"We're currently rationalising our payphone estate to make it fit for the future, and the Adopt a Kiosk scheme makes it possible for local communities across the UK to retain their local phone box with a refreshed purpose for the community."

So far, more than 5,000 communities across the UK have seized the opportunity to do something wonderful with disused local phone boxes — and there's still the chance for others to get involved, too.

Martin Fagan, national secretary of the Community Heartbeat Trust charity, which is installing defibrillators in the phone boxes, added: "BT's phone box kiosks are iconic British structures, and repurposing for this life-saving use has given them a new lease of life.

"To date we have converted about 800 ourselves, with another 200 in the pipeline. Placing the equipment in the heart of a community is important to save on time. Kiosks are historically at the centre of the community, and thus great locations for defibrillators."

To get involved or express your interest, head over the BT's Adopt a Kiosk website.

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