A NEW telephone kiosk will be installed in Banbury to safeguard the town's "phone box library" after BT and the Town Council finally reached an agreement.

The red phone box outside St John’s Church, in South Bar Street, has doubled up as a miniature library since last summer,  when shelves were installed and books put in for people to lend and borrow.

But today it has been announced that a second red kiosk will now be provided next to the original box.

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The new structure will have no phone, but will house books on safe and secure shelves. The old box will continue to be used as a payphone.

Council leader Kieron Mallon said: “This proposal is the perfect solution. It’s not unusual to find two red phone boxes side by side, and having a community library and a working payphone in South Bar will be the best of both worlds.”

The library’s anonymous founder said: “It is absolutely wonderful that BT and the town council have worked together to find a solution that suits everyone. This is something we can all be proud of.

“This has shown that when we get together to help each other, great things can happen.”

The original box was at the centre of controversy last month when BT threatened to close it, citing health and safety fears.

Banbury Town Council offered to adopt the box provided the phone, from which more than 1,000 calls were made last year, remained operational. BT refused.