Red phone box disgrace - City Hall ready to take legal action against BT - iconic kiosks used as drug hang-outs

Published: 08 October 2010
by JOSH LOEB

CITY Hall has threatened to take British Telecom to court unless it seals shut iconic red telephone boxes that they say are being used as “drug dens”.

Westminster officers have warned that the phone boxes, some of which have listed status protection, are popular with drug users, adding that many were unhygienic and had been found to contain human waste. 

If BT does not carry out the work, the council plans to serve the company with an Abatement Notice under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – meaning possible court action.

Council anti-crime chiefs said they were responding to concerns raised by the police, who have warned that misuse of phone boxes is hampering their efforts – but this week a BT spokesman told the West End Extra that sealing the phone boxes, while “not a new idea” was “not something that we tend to do”.

In a written statement, the spokesman later added that BT was working with the council to “address faults” with the boxes. 

The spokesman added: “Following the concerns raised by the council last week, we immediately visited the kiosks concerned to clean and check them. BT is committed to working closely with local authorities and police to combat criminal and anti-social behaviour as this affects our service to the public, local residents and businesses. We are working with Westminster City Council and discussing what can be done to solve these problems, which could include CCTV surveillance by the council, additional visits by the Metropolitan Police and extra checking and cleaning by BT.” 

Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for society, families and adult services, Councillor Daniel Astaire said: “These phone boxes really are disgusting and have little purpose except for drug dealers. 

“It is not uncommon to find them littered with crack pipes, syringes and smelling of urine. We want to either be able to remove them or clean them up – replace the broken glass and seal them shut so they can still be enjoyed as an iconic part of London but not abused by thieves and drug users.”

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