BT bosses have turned down a police request to remove York telephone boxes allegedly used by drug dealers - because the boxes are too profitable.

York police chiefs contacted the telecommunications giant to ask for the phones in St Saviourgate to be moved after numerous complaints from residents and nearby taxi drivers.

But Chief Inspector Howard Harding said his request was rejected because of the boxes' "lucrative nature".

Guildhall ward councillor Brian Watson, who also wrote to BT to request the telephones be removed, said they were "almost exclusively" used by drug dealers and users.

"I'm very disappointed in BT," he said. "The phone boxes are clearly used as a drop-off point by dealers."

The Evening Press recently reported complaints by taxi drivers operating from the St Saviourgate rank that they suffered regular abuse from drug dealers who loiter at the phone boxes.

Chief Insp Harding said a CCTV camera had recently been used to monitor the area, including the phone boxes.

He said: "We have successfully arrested people down there for dealing in drugs, but clearly officers can't be there all the time.

"It would assist the situation if the phone booths weren't there.

"BT explained to me that the phone boxes were a very lucrative source of revenue and, at the moment, they would only look at alternatives to removing them."

A taxi driver, who asked not to be named, said: "These people are always upsetting customers. They gather outside the phone boxes all day."

A BT spokeswoman said the boxes provided an essential service and were very well used.

"Re-siting them may only move the problem somewhere else," she said. "But we're prepared to look at it again if the community feels so strongly about it."

Updated: 10:15 Saturday, March 29, 2003