NEVER mind talk, it's good to text say British Telecom, which is in the process of removing dozens of unwanted phone boxes from Blackpool's streets.

BT's ringing the changes because of the rise of mobile phones and use of e-mails and text messages.

In Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre 78 pay phones are to go.

One of the latest was one of two boxes on the corner of Newcastle Avenue and Whitegate Drive.

One Newcastle Avenue resident said she was 'amazed' when the phone disappeared seemingly overnight, leaving just a neat patch of asphalt.

"I saw the sign announcing it was going to be taken away but it was literally there one day and gone the next," she said.

But BT spokesman Les King said residents needn't worry about dial-abolical goings-on -- only unused or out-dated phone boxes are being taken away, while phones in 'remote locations' will be left alone.

"We are trying to reduce the number of pay phones and it's a nationwide programme which started in February last year. We are looking at 30,000 phone boxes that are not being used.

"We are looking at the sites where there are two or more together and reducing those," he explained.

Many of the doomed phones were designed to take phone cards, which are no longer sold, he said. And he added: "There are many more pay phones than there used to be, but people's needs have changed."

BT says the mobile phone boom has led to a 37 per cent drop in phone box calls over the last two years.

"But the telecoms giant is planning to revamp many ordinary payphones, turning them into internet kiosks to meet a growing demand for such a service.

Brand new kiosks are also appearing in public areas such as shopping centres and stations.

"There's going to be a network of 20,000 internet kiosks. We have got around 1200 at the moment," Les said.

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