Seaton Parish Council has bowed to public pressure and agreed to adopt the old red phone box which stands in Main Street in the village.

Councillors had voted against buying the phone box which was available from a pound under BT's adopt a payphone scheme.

Earlier this year the communications company decided to remove thousands of payphones around the country which were losing money, but Rutland MP Alan Duncan fought to keep them.

A petition with 110 names was handed over to Seaton parish council by campaigner Charlotte Rudkin, of Main Street, and last week they agreed to keep the phone kiosk.

Charlotte said: "I am thrilled that we get to keep this old Seaton icon as street furniture. The community really came together to save it and now we can enjoy it for years to come.

"I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped with the campaign including our youngest, 14-year-old Emi Firmston-Williams. And we very much appreciated the support of Alan Duncan MP who actually secured the national Adopt-a-Kiosk program through BT."

A team of volunteers from the village will be responsible for the upkeep of the phone box, starting with a lick of paint in the spring.
Rutland has 28 old red phone boxes including the box in Seaton.

Mr Duncan wrote to BT in June suggesting they launch an adoption scheme. He said: "I'm delighted that BT has agreed to what was always a perfectly simple proposal to ensure red phone boxes do not disappear into the great grey blur of the modern British streetscape."