BRITISH Telecom is to remove a public pay phone from Gunnislake that has been continually vandalised. The company contacted Calstock Parish Council several months ago proposing to remove unprofitable payphones in the area, including one at King Street in Gunnislake and one outside Albaston Post Office. Councillors objected to the proposals as they said they were against the loss of any local amenities in the area. After reconsideration, BT has decided to retain the payphone at Albaston but will proceed with the removal of one of the Gunnislake payphones. Rick Thompson from BT?s project liaison office wrote to councillors telling them that both the Gunnislake boxes were low usage, unprofitable payphones. He said: ?The decision to retain the Commercial Street payphone is because it is a little more central to the village, however , they are only 320 metres apart. Additionally, the King Street box is constantly vandalised, the glass is smashed regularly. My view is that the criminal activity surrounding this kiosk actually compromises public safety.? Mr Thompson added that fewer than 1% of households nationally are without access to either a landline or mobile phone so it was not surprising that payphone use had declined dramatically in recent years. Parish councillors reluctantly agreed to support the move, although there was some concern about elderly residents who live on the Woodland Way estate, in particular, losing the facility. Cllr Ian Kirk said: ?This is about the third time they have asked. Reluctantly I would agree. I think we have got to give in at this point.?