A CAMPAIGN to keep a telephone box in a rural east Cleveland village looks as though it has been won by local people and councillors.

Members of Loftus Town Council were furious when a payphone was removed from Liverton village.

British Telecom said it was removing the phone box because of work on the nearby village hall and added it that it was not used enough.

Loftus borough councillors David Walsh and Eric Jackson wrote to the company objecting, and the town council also wrote to ask the company to put back the phone box.

They argued that although the village was off the beaten track, the road was well used by motorists who may need to use the phone in an emergency.

They added that mobile phone signals were particularly poor in the area and were of little use, and added that some elderly people in the area did not have phones at home.

A spokesman for BT said the company would consider restoring the phone.