End of the line for many of Tyrone’s public phone boxes

DOZENS of once-familiar phone kiosks across West Tyrone are to be removed, after figures showed they are barely being used.

BT has confirmed that a number of kiosks in villages and towns throughout the district will be taken away following a review which revealed many had not been used at all in the past year, while others had only registered a handful of calls.

Even helpline calls were extremely rare.

The decision marks the end of an era for what was once a vital link for people without a landline.

For most of the 20th century, the red and glass-fronted phone box was a fixture of both urban streets and rural roads.

However, the rise of mobile phones over the past 25 years has made them largely redundant.

BT says its removal programme follows a three-month consultation, and that each kiosk earmarked for removal has met the necessary criteria.

Among those to go are kiosks at Creggan Road, Carrickmore, Loughmacrory Road, Main Street, Gortin, Gortrush Park, Omagh, Ballynahatty, Omagh, and Meelmore Drive, Omagh.

Others listed include Letfern Road, Tattyreagh, Main Street, Dromore, Old Mountfield Road, Omagh, Manse Road, Drumquin, Plumbridge Road, Newtownstewart, and Drumlegagh Road, Omagh.

The issue was raised with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council earlier this year, and councillors again noted BT’s decision at a recent Environmental Services committee meeting.