'I wanted to save red phone box as it's an icon'
BBCA traditional red phone box which was set to be removed from a Lancashire village is being given a new lease of life thanks to a local councillor who managed to get it "adopted" for just £1.
Conservative Jamie McGowan persuaded Hapton Parish Council to buy the decommissioned phone box, which has been on Church Street since 1935, in October after BT was going to remove it.
McGowan said he was carrying out all the renovation work himself, "rolling up" his sleeves and getting "stuck in" to "bring back a little pride to Hapton".
He said red phone boxes were part of British history and had become "British icons" and he could not let this one "go to waste".
The Church Street box will now be home to floral displays for the village, he said.
McGowan said there had been a lot of work already on the revamp, which was made possible by the BT's Adopt a Kiosk scheme.
"I've scraped off all the years and years of dirt and grime, paint and then the amount of coats that I've put on is taking quite a while, but it's so worth it," he said.
He has used the official paint colours of BT and also replaced all the glass panes with perspex to prevent vandalism.
When asked why he wanted to take on the project, he said: "I'm proud of British history and this is a British icon.
"It's part of what people think about when they think of Great Britain and I don't want to see a telephone box like this go to waste."
The phone box will now be kept by Hapton Parish Council and it is going to be brought back into community use once the work has been completed.
McGowan said: "They're going to be putting flowers, planters all the way in it and we've got a resident who's already come forward who is volunteering to keep the flowers watered year round.
"So it'll just be a nice addition to Hapton village and hopefully the residents appreciate it."
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