THERE are fears the elderly may suffer after a fight to keep payphone kiosks open in east Cleveland was lost.

BT has now closed 12 phone boxes in the Redcar and Cleveland area and dozens more across Teesside.

The company says the phones have to pay for themselves because they cannot be subsidised but promise that there is a phone box within 500m of any which are closed.

But local people remain unhappy. Joan Guy, chairman of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council, said: "I feel that they haven't taken any notice of our concerns.

"As always, it's the most vulnerable people in society, like the elderly and the less well off who can't afford to have mobile phones or a phone at home, who will lose out."

A spokesperson from BT blamed the closure on the growth of mobile phones. There were simply too many phone boxes in some areas to meet the needs of customers but unprofitable kiosks were only removed if there was a convenient alternative payphone nearby, he said.

* Kiosks to go include: Ullswater Drive, Skelton; Oxford Street and Rifts Avenue, Saltburn; Fountain Street, Guisborough; Park Road, Brotton; Roseberry Road, Troutbeck Road, Kirkleatham Lane, Newcomen Terrace and Lord Street, Redcar; Mordales Road and Southfield Road, Marske.