PHONE boxes have been in the news in York, for all the wrong reasons.

That is often the way these days, because this once treasured public utility is now more prone to vandalism and abuse than ever.

The vogue among young thugs is for causing dangerous havoc with fireworks. At other times it is yet more broken glass. All of which makes using a phone box a less than pleasant experience, especially with the traditional attributes of cigarette ash, graffiti and that stale urine smell.

The days of the phone box as a cause of pride and usefulness seem to be on the wane. Phone boxes started to appear on Britain's streets at the turn of the last century and are still held in fond memory by many. Yet the march of technology is in danger of sweeping away this upstanding relic of the past.

BT is removing kiosks from certain locations in York as part of a national programme to dispose of 30,000 phone boxes which began last year. A further nine boxes are being purged from York's streets and from main roads leading to the city. A number are understood to have gone from beside the A64, which could be worrying to motorists who break down, particularly women travelling alone at night.

Even these days, when use of mobile phones has expanded rapidly to include people of almost all ages and sections of society, not everyone has a mobile. And these smart modern toys, while undeniably useful, do not always work.

So the phone box should remain on our streets as an important social service for those who do not have a mobile, and as a readily available means of calling the emergency services.

Phone companies may complain that the kiosks are uneconomic, but just think of all the money they get from us in other, more modern ways, via mobiles and the like.

Updated: 11:11 Friday, October 17, 2003