CONCERNS are being raised as more than 142 phone boxes across Gwent are under risk of being disconnected by BT.

The British multi-national telecommunication service are carrying out a review after a 90 per cent drop in usage over the past decade.

It means that more than a third of all payphones in the region disappear with many being barely used or deemed to no longer be needed.

However, as part of the consultation BT are promoting the idea of local residents or authorities have the chance to ‘adopt’ a traditional heritage box for £1.

Torfaen councillor and mayor of Blaenavon, Alan Jones, said: “We could be seeing most of the ones in Blaenavon go and most people seems to have mobile phones.

“On some of the estates people haven’t used them for years but it’s important that the one in town centres, like Broad Street, and in rural locations are kept just in case of emergencies.”

Currently there are 395 phone boxes across Gwent after a large number were disconnected in 2009.

Monmouthshire is the hardest hit area with 42 of its 87 phone boxes currently under consultation for closure whilst Caerphilly county borough has 41 under review.

Monmouthshire’s cabinet member for Community Development, cllr Phil Hobson, said: “Technology has moved so rapidly in recent years that a whole range of media have either become redundant or are heading that way.

There are instances where phone boxes haven’t been used for quite some time and it would be difficult to argue they should be retained. However, evidence that some have been used recently surely indicates a demand and lends support for their retention.”

Elsewhere Newport could see 23 cut-off compared to 22 in Torfaen and 15 in Blaenau Gwent.

The phone box in the Somerset industrial estate, Cwmbran, is the most used with 551 calls made in the last year whilst 66 haven’t been used once over the past 12 months.

A BT spokesman, said: “BT is carrying out an ongoing review of payphones which we believe are no longer needed. We have written to the relevant local authorities and none of these payphones will be removed without the consent of the local authority.

“In all instances where there’s no other payphone within 400 metres, we’ll ask for consent from the local authority to remove the payphone. Where we receive objections from the local authority, we won’t remove the payphone.”