A FIGHT is on to save an iconic old red telephone box located close to Newnham's attractive village Green.

Petitions in the town's Corner Shop and Post Office were signed by 250 people in just a week. Organiser Sue Dubois says she hopes parish councillors will now lead the campaign to keep the box - a feature she describes as "symbolic of traditional villages."

"They are much loved and enhance our local surroundings," she said.

Sue said she was surprised to learn that though the box was in a conservation area it could be removed and sold.

She said: "The main aim is to conserve it and give it a useful and enjoyable retirement. One idea is to use in as a "Pop Up" shop. Many villages throughout the country are using their iconic red boxes as small libraries, information points, swop shops or defibulator points. It's up to the community.

"Local boxes at Northwood Green, The Old Post Office, May Hill and Whitecliff have been renovated by the community and are still enhancing the areas they serve. They are items of history."