LUCCOMBE’s 80-year-old traditional telephone box has escaped from being axed by BT after a two-year battle to save it, villagers learned this week.

The last-minute reprieve came after BT had earmarked 23 West Somerset phone boxes – including Luccombe – for removal in the coming months on the grounds they were rarely used.

Residents of the 157-strong National Trust village had claimed there was no mobile phone coverage in Luccombe from any network and that the box was a vital link to the outside world in case of an emergency.

The village’s fight was backed by Exmoor National Park authority which said that many rural phone boxes are iconic in nature, are much-loved and are highly valued as part of the National Park heritage.

Plans to save the box also included an application to make it into a listed building.

Luccombe Parish Council chairman Henry Harington said: “We have twice gone through the process of showing that the figures on which BT relied to assess mobile phone coverage were simply not true.

“They also claimed that the phone box was on private land which meant they did not have to consult anyone before removing it.

“We are absolutely delighted that after all our efforts the box has finally been reprieved in perpetuity. BT has argued for the removal of the boxes because they don’t generate much revenue but they have a public service role and in our situation we don’t have an alternative if there is an emergency and loss of power means that modern digital home phones don’t work.

“Due to climate change, there is an increasing risk of moorland fires and we had just such an emergency, with an injury, and a fire that could have spread to the moor. The injured man was unable to use a mobile phone.”

Cllr Harington added: “It has been a right royal battle and the residents of Luccombe are delighted and relieved that we finally have the security of a permanent line to the outside world.”