BRITISH Telecom has scrapped plans to remove hundreds of payphones across part of the North.

The company will now close only 11 phone boxes in North Yorkshire, and is considering making others cashless facilities instead of removing them.

The news has been welcomed by people who campaigned to keep the phones.

BT announced it was going to close 297 payphones in the county last year, saying many of them were underused and unprofitable because of the popularity of mobile phones.

But people living in areas where mobile phone reception is poor said the boxes were vital in emergencies.

North Yorkshire County Council held talks with BT and yesterday, it was announced that only 11 boxes will go.

County councillor Carl Les said: "We started with a list of over 200 potential phone closures and we have ended up with a list of 11. I think in anybody's terms, that is a success story."

BT is now planning to discuss with the public proposals to modify a number of underused payphone to make them usable by people who do not have small change on them.

They would be available to make emergency calls and could be used with a BT or credit card.

However, before any changes, BT will consult people in the areas concerned.

Gordon Gresty, the county council's corporate director of business and community services, said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of our discussions with BT. It is clear that they have accepted the importance of rural services such as payphones to isolated communities.

"The only payphones that will be removed from North Yorkshire as a result of this exercise are a small number of very infrequently used payphones, where no objections have been received to their removal and where an alternative payphone is nearby.

"Any further plans to modify payphones to cashless call-boxes will only be brought forward after close consultation with the county council's area committees.

"It is clear that a large number of payphones across the county are not profitable.

"However, we are very pleased at the attitude that has been adopted by British Telecom in recognising the value of such services to rural communities."