Old phone boxes are being transformed into BT phone box Defibrillators – potential lifesavers after being purchased by villagers for £1.

A defibrillator, which gives the heart an electric shock in some cases of cardiac arrest, are being installed across the country as part of a joint project with BT and the ‘Community Heartbeat Trust’.

BT phone box Defibrillators, real life savers for all communities

More than 100 traditional red kiosks in Scotland have been adopted by their local communities for £1. But the BT phone box Defibrillators could be real life savers for rural communities in the future.

The famous Gilbert Scott designed K6 or Jubilee kiosk was launched in 1936 to celebrate King George V’s silver jubilee.

By the 1960’s almost 70000 Kiosks could be found across the countryside, and whilst the public payphone service has undergone enormous changes since then, the traditional red kiosk had already forged itself as an iconic symbol of British life.

Understanding that the red telephone box plays a significant part in our national heritage and in many cases forms a focal point for communities across the country BT is able to offer communities the opportunity to keep these kiosks.

BT and Community Heartbeat Trust charity (CHT), work together to help communities turn their adopted telephone boxes into medical centres, by using them as homes for Public Access Defibrillators, storing the defibrillation in a well recognised, safe, weather protected location.

The first kiosk to be fitted with the defibrillation equipment funded by BT is in Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire. It is the 1,500th red phone box adopted by a local community in the UK. Apart from the defibrillator kiosks, boxes have been turned into art galleries, public libraries, exhibitions and information centres. Even the villagers of Ambridge in BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers’ have adopted their kiosk.