Dozens of historic red telephone boxes face the axe in Horsham

The iconic red phone boxes - a distinctive feature of the British landscape for decades - are among around 400 throughout Sussex which are facing the axe.

BT says many of them are now in a poor state and are hardly used because most people have mobile phones.

But Sussex Heritage Trust has launched a campaign to save the telephone kiosks which once stood on the streets of every town and village in Britain.

The trust is urging local communities to ‘adopt’ phone boxes to ensure their survival. Many have already been adopted and converted into such things as information points or sites for housing life-saving defibrillators.

BT has written to Horsham District Council outlining its plans to remove the 40 public payphones in Horsham and surrounding villages.

The kiosks under threat in Horsham are at Coltsfoot Drive, Pondtail Road, Highlands Road, New Street, Church Road, Roffey; Cootes Avenue, Elm Grove, Hawkesbourne Road, Comptons Lane and Rusper Road.

Others pinpointed for removal are at Hill Estate, Henfield; Brighton Road, Woodmancote; Henfield Road, Small Dole, Forest Road, Colgate, Crawley Road, Faygate and Lambs Green, Rusper.

Still more under threat are sited at Church Street, Warnham; Cowfold Road, Coolham and Hayes Lane, Slinfold.

In Billingshurst phone boxes under threat are at Stane Street, Five Oaks and near Jupplands House, Adversane.

Others facing the axe are at Church Street, Rudgwick; on the A281 at Bucks Green; Haven Road, Rudgwick; Nuthust Road, Maplehurst; Brighton Road, Lower Beeding; Handcross Road, Plummers Plain; The Hollow, West Chiltington; Street Close, Codmore Hill; Pulborough Road, Cootham; Storrington Road, Thakeham; Thakeham Road, Storrington; Roman Road, Steyning; London Road, Washington; Rectory Close, Ashington; Houghton Bridge, Amberley; and Dacre Gardens, Upper Beeding.