A VILLAGE red telephone box has been given a new lease of life in a community council led initiative.

Treuddyn Community Council has joined forces with the rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd to give the village's redundant telephone box, which was due to be removed by BT Payphones, a new use.

The kiosk, located on Queen Street, had fallen into disrepair and was taken on by the council for a nominal sum of £1 from BT, who replaced missing panes and provided a supply of ‘currant red’ paint so that the outside could be restored.

Villagers were invited to a meeting last summer to discuss ideas for the content. As a result, a circular walk around the village, taking in historic landmarks and places of interest was devised and is featured inside the kiosk.

Art work by children from Ysgol Terrig and Ysgol Parc y Llan in the village is also featured as part of the display.

The kiosks were originally designed by the famous architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott whose great works include Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, Waterloo Bridge and Battersea Power Station. By the 1980s there were over 80,000 of them around Britain before the rise of the mobile phone led to many becoming largely redundant.

In villages like Treuddyn in the 1950s and 1960s when very few people had land lines, the telephone kiosk was often the only form of contact with the outside world.

Phone boxes have also been renovated in in Gwaenysgor and Ysceifiog in Flintshire. The project has received funding from Welsh Government's LEADER scheme which is part of the Rural Communities/Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, which is financed by the Welsh Government and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

Sarah Jones, Cadwyn Clwyd natural resources officer, said: "We are delighted that Treuddyn Community Council took the decision to give a new and useful lease of life to a wonderful and historical piece of street furniture."

Gill Short, Treuddyn Community Council chair, added: "Telephone boxes have been part of the fabric of our villages and countryside for decades and thanks to this scheme they can continue to play a part in local life."