CAMPAIGNERS are concerned 'vital' village payphones relied on by walkers and climbers in emergencies could be lost forever.

More than 200 public phones have been put under review due to a decline in use, including one in Troutbeck and another at Broughton Mills.

Cllr Ben Berry, South Lakeland District Council representative for Windermere, Applethwaite and Troutbeck, said that he is going to put up a strong fight to keep the phone box in Troutbeck.

"There is poor signal here," he said. "Even if it's only one person who uses it in an emergency then it's worth having it.

British Telecom has put 247 of Cumbria's 600 payphones under review. It has said that the phones are ones that have had 'very little use' over a significant period of time.

"The regulator Ofcom are very clear that phone boxes are especially important where mobile phones don’t work," Cllr Berry said. "To remove this box would be incredibly detrimental to the visitors of our village who rely on it."

Volunteers with the Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team have also highlighted the importance of four phones at Broughton Mills, Seathwaite, Ulpha and Cockley Beck that are under review.

Writing on Facebook, a spokesperson said: "Given that all four of these phone boxes are in areas where there is no mobile coverage and two are in locations next to defibrillators that require you to phone 999 to get the unlock code, maybe BT should reconsider?"

Since, the rescue team have been told that essential payphones such as these will remain.

Campaigners have also been boosted by news that BT has reversed its decision to get rid of a payphone at Seathwaite in Borrowdale after pressure was brought to bear by Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.

BT decided that because of the lack of mobile signal at the location, the removal of the payphone could prevent a call to the emergency services and would not be seeking to remove it for the foreseeable future.

A spokesperson for BT said that usage of payphones had declined by more than 90 per cent in the last decade and it had continued to review and remove payphones that were no longer needed.

"Any removal of payphones is carried out in strict adherence to the Ofcom guidelines and, where appropriate, with the consent of local authorities," the spokesperson said. "In all instances where there’s no other payphone within 400 metres, we’ll ask for consent from the local authority to remove the payphone. Where we receive objections from the local authority, we won’t remove the payphone."