Council officials are to make a fresh plea to British Telecom not to scrap payphones in rural areas, saying the proposals could put lives at risk.

The company is planning to remove 297 of the 1,805 payphones in North Yorkshire as part of a national programme to close kiosks running at a loss.

BT say the closures are down to the increase in ownership of mobile phones, which has caused public use of payphones to halve in the last three years.

But Jeremy Walker, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, says that the removal of rural payphones would compromise people's safety because of the lack of mobile phone reception in parts of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.

He said: "Although the payphones in question may not be profitable, there is little doubt that their removal compromises the safety and security of a number of people, many of whom may be very vulnerable."

Paul Hendron, director of BT Payphones, has suggested the council meets the company to discuss non-cash payphones that only allow operator, cash card and emergency calls.

The issue will be discussed by the county council's executive at County Hall, Northallerton, on Tuesday.