A high street has changed today, as some of the last of the BT telephone boxes were removed from the town centre.

Hexham residents noticed a truck and workers removing one of the structures next to Skipton Building Society on Fore Street this morning (March 20).

The removal comes into place after Northumberland County Council approved a planning application to remove them last September.

BT submitted two applications to remove phone boxes no longer in use in Haltwhistle and Allenheads, along with six applications across the rest of the county.

Hexham Mayor Derek Kennedy said: "The phone box always looked a little tatty on Fore Street and was rarely used and end up being just a bit of street clutter with no real value for the town.

"The expansion of personal mobile phones has made many phone boxes redundant.

"We all love the older Red Phone boxes, and I’m pleased we have these fitted around Hexham, but the more modern glass booths were not attractive. "

Read more BT submit plans to remove phone boxes in Haltwhistle and Allenheads

At the time of the application - BT said if residents think the phone box should stay in use, to contact the local authority within 90 days. This 90-day period ended on December 3.

The phone boxes were assessed using the criteria in Ofcom’s review of the telephony universal service obligation. 

Haltwhistle Town Council objected to the proposal to remove their phone box at Townfoot.

At the time a spokesperson for the council submitted a comment on the application which said: "The Town council object to the removal of the phone box at Townfoot.

"As this area is at the far east of the town, members feel it is an important asset for the many houses in this area. In light of recent storms where people had no access to phones once the electricity was cut off, members feel keeping the phone boxes is of utmost importance."