A COUPLE have stepped in to try and prevent the axe falling on a village's only telephone box - by sponsoring it.

The villagers of Laverton, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, who recently lost their only community facility - the Methodist chapel - could save their phone box if British Telecom (BT) agrees to the sponsorship deal. The phone box benefactors are a farming couple who want to remain anonymous.

A spokesman for BT, which has thousands of loss-making phone boxes on a potential hit list, said: "This is a very unusual request. We have not heard of anything like this before. The request will certainly be considered."

The couple decided to act after they lost the use of their landline phone service, which could not be restored for several days. Although they have a mobile phone, reception is very poor.

"We decided to support the box because of the problems we faced when our phone was out of order. The box is the only one in the village and we have made the offer, which is purely practical," said the farmer's wife.

"We have had a letter from BT telling us the parish council have been in touch and we are just waiting for a decision.

"We have no idea how much it will cost, but we just wanted to help and keep the box," she said

Some loss-making and seldom- used rural phone boxes in North Yorkshire have been reprieved from closure by BT because they provided a community service in isolated country areas.

BT said that to break even, a box needed to be taking about £1,800 a year. Some on the hit list were taking less than £100 a year.

The Nidderdale farming couple hoping to sponsor the box said: "We realise that BT are running a business and at the end of the day they want to make a profit. But we don't want to see them take the box away."