THEY once provided a way of staying in touch or sheltering from a sudden downpour. Now all they do is spoil the image of Brighton.

Modern life has rendered the public telephone box almost obsolete. Those that remain have fallen into decay, serving little purpose other than as a canvas for urban warriors to spray graffiti or as public urinals for drunks. Let’s face it, neither of these groups are going to make their mark on the world in any other way, are they?

But have you noticed just how many phone boxes there are in and around Brighton? It’s surprising that there are still loads of them! Run-down, seedy and forlorn, they are anachronisms in this modern era. It harks back to the 1970s and 1980s when many phone boxes were in disrepair. So unpleasant are they, you wouldn’t want to use one – even if you could find one that works.

Perhaps most surprising of all is just how the worst examples are in the most prominent locations. Right in front of the Palace ….oops I mean Brighton Pier, the Old Steine war memorial and Norfolk Square.

It’s time to kill the kiosks and modernise our metropolis. But please leave the red ones near Pelham Square and Palmeira Square. To the hipsters with their Samsung Galaxy S5’s, skinny jeans and plimsolls, they can serve as quaint reminders of a bygone era.