DOZENS of historic red telephone boxes could disappear from the south Oxfordshire landscape unless villages and towns decide to ‘adopt’ them.

Parish councils have been given the chance to adopt 47 red phone boxes to preserve them as local landmarks.

If they reject the opportunity, many may be closed and removed by BT.

On Monday, Wallingford Town Council decided by eight votes to seven not to adopt boxes at Wallingford Bridge and in Sinodun Road, leaving their future in doubt.

The Sinodun Road box is likely to be removed by BT, but because the one at the bridge is listed, the district council said it would ask the firm to maintain it.

Town councillor Theresa Jordan had urged fellow members to save the phone box at the bridge, saying it marked the entrance to the town for many residents and visitors.

Although the kiosk has appeared on dozens of postcards of Wallingford, other councillors said the cost of maintaining it and protecting it from vandals would be too great.

Alec Hayton said: “The provision of urinals is the responsibility of the district council, and that’s exactly what they’re going to be used for.”

BT will not maintain telephone connections in the boxes, and the company will not let anyone except councils take over ownership of the telephone boxes.

The boxes were designed for the Post Office by Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea power station.

Across Oxfordshire, seven have already been adopted, including Ewelme’s High Street kiosk.

Parish council chairman Peter Lemaire said: “It had been there since living memory – when you walk down the street, there it is.

“Nobody had used it in two years, so in that sense it was defunct and unnecessary, but it’s part of the scenery and of historic interest.

“Touch wood, we’ve had no problems with it. We did have worries about kids getting in there and doing damage and breaking glass, but we haven’t had anything like that at all.”

Nine phone boxes in the district are listed, but the remaining 38 could be removed by BT unless they are adopted by town or parish councils or have enough users to justify keeping them in use.