A NEWENT councillor has raised concerns about residents being cut off from emergency services in the Forest of Dean in the light of 70 possible BT phone box closures.

Forest Councillor Craig Lawton (Con, Oxenhall and Newent North East) has asked BT how many emergency calls have been made from these phone boxes over the last year, as the company consults on closing lesser used phone boxes.

Cllr Lawton said: “A few weeks ago I wrote to BT asking them for details of how many 999 or 101 calls have been made from these phone boxes. So far I have not heard back from them with details.”

“From some locations, such as The Scarr in my ward, no calls have been made for some time. However the list of proposed closures also includes sites that have been more active. Parkend for example has seen over 200 calls made from one box, while there are a number around Coleford, Cinderford and Lyndey that have each had between 50 and 200 calls made from them in the last year. For some residents a pay phone might be their only way of contacting the emergency services.

“I’m not suggesting that all of these sites need to keep a phone box – that is of course for local residents to consider. To make an informed decision however, people must have all the facts and the number of emergency calls made is an important factor to consider.”

Residents can contribute by contacting Forest of Dean District Council’s planning department by December 1 or by contacting BT directly before December 21. Their address is BT Payphones, 4th Floor Monument TE, 11-13 Great Tower Street, London, EC3R 5AQ, or email btp.authorisation. [email protected].