KNAYTON villagers are angry at the removal, without notice, of the village telephone kiosk.

British Telecom engineers arrived last week and removed it from the village green.

This means that the nearest telephone box is now at the services on the southbound side of the A19, which has no pedestrian access form the village.

The matter was raised at the monthly meeting of the parish council when councillors expressed concern, especially if there was an emergency.

The chairman, Coun Tim Bucknall, spent more than an hour trying to contact BT to find out why the kiosk had been removed without consultation, only to be told that this was in line with proposals to reduce the number of rural kiosks because they were so little used.

"This isn't the point in a remote area," he said. "Not everyone has a telephone, and it is very dangerous trying to get to the services kiosk on this very fast stretch of road outside the village."

The parish council is to write to BT asking for an official explanation.

No one from BT was available for comment.