A DECISION to slash the number of public telephone boxes in Tavistock has infuriated a West Devon councillor, who has slammed the move as ?ludicrous?.

Telecommunications giant BT has written to the borough council, informing it of the intention to remove seven phone boxes in the borough ? two in Bere Alston and the remaining five in the southern ward of Tavistock.

In a letter to the chief executive, Rick Thompson, project liaison manager for BT, said the decision to remove the boxes followed a review which revealed a drop of more than one third in demand for such a facility.

Mr Thompson said: ?BT intends to ensure that the basic service is protected within easy reach of all communities. The aim is to thin out payphones where there are too many boxes.?

Mr Thompson said the review did not include unprofitable payphones serving remote communities and BT would continue to protect the service in these areas.

Under the move, phone boxes in Tavistock will be removed from opposite the town?s cemetery, at the junction of Churchill Road in Whitchurch, at Crelake Park, at Anderton Lane and at Hazel Road.

In Bere Alston, the phone boxes at Pounds Park Road and Bedford Street have been earmarked for removal.

Tavistock South ward member Cllr Ted Sherrell said: ?I was astonished and angered ? and remain so. It?s a ludicrous decision ? it beggars belief.

?If these closures go ahead it will leave probably just a couple of phone boxes to provide for the needs of more than 6,000 inhabitants.

?Reasonable access to a public phone box remains an essential need even in these more affluent times ? not everybody has a phone, mobile or static.?

And Cllr Sherrell called on BT to re-think its decision ?as a matter of urgency?.

Cllr Pat Warne said: ?This does bother me. I would like to see what evidence there is that these boxes are not being used ? not everybody has mobile phones.?

Cllr Roger Mathew welcomed the fact that BT promised to continue provision of phone boxes in remote areas, but he said ?regretfully? he could see why public phones in towns were being cut back, given the extensive use of mobiles.

And Bere Ferrers Cllr Christine Grills said she did not know how well used the public phones in Bere Alston were, but said it was ?a great shame? that such facilities were being cut back.

?I know the ones in Bere Ferrers are used a lot,? she said.

David Incoll, borough chief executive, said: ?Unfortunately, we are suffering as a result of BT working in a commercial manner.

?Clearly the growth of mobile phone use doesn?t help us argue for the retention of kiosks, and the decision does work against those who don?t have these facilities.?

Mr Incoll said that BT did not need the borough council?s consent to remove phone boxes.

But he said if necessary a senior representative would be invited to meet with councillors to hear their concerns.