THE CAMPAIGN to save rural payphones under threat in the Upper Dales has stepped up – with a councillor calling the consultation process “shambolic.”

A consultation is currently underway in the Yorkshire Dales into dozens of payphone boxes, many of which are in mobile phone blackspots, but county councillor John Blackie believes errors have been made by BT in the process.

Some have been broken for up to five years – and Cllr Blackie said after complaining for up to three years he had given up on some, despite them being in deeply rural areas with no mobile phone coverage.

He said: “One of the payphones, in Widdale, is deeply rural and has no mobile coverage. I have been reporting it being out of service since it broke about five years ago and gave up on it around two years ago after seeing no attempts at repair being made.

He said three bikers had died in the past in accidents nearby and added: “In each case passers-by went to the Widdale box to summon emergency medical help but the telephone was not working.”

Cllr Blackie is also concerned about apparent confusion over which planning authority some villages fell into – some including Newbiggin in Bishopdale and Thornton Rust near Askrigg have been left off both the National Park’s and Richmondshire District Council’s lists of at-risk boxes.

He said: “My concern is there will be telephones like Newbiggin, which is in the park, that were not in the original listings for either but now have been put in retrospectively.

“There is every danger of telephone boxes being closed by default because they have fallen foul of the gap between the two BT listings for closure. The situation is shambolic.”

A spokeswoman for BT said they were trying to resolve Cllr Blackie’s concerns and added: “The number of calls isn’t the only factor we take into account when considering whether we should remove a payphone and we are not looking to remove any kiosks from areas with no mobile coverage.

“The consultation gives local communities the opportunity to tell us if a payphone is needed.

“We will not remove any of the payphones under consultation where we receive an objection from the local authority.”