Phone giant BT has begun stripping 'surplus' phone boxes from the streets of Brighton and Hove.

The company is scrapping 45 public payphones which, it says, are under-used and unprofitable.

But the removal has caused anger among politicians who believe it is the tip of the iceberg.

Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper said it could lead to the elimination of the traditional call box.

He said: "My concerns remain. There are areas of Brighton and Hove where people don't have any access to a phone other than their local call box, especially on outlying estates.

"There are safety issues, particularly late at night, for youngsters keeping in touch with their parents.

"There is already heavy demand for payphones in the city centre and there is the additional pressure of overseas visitors and foreign students in a place like Brighton and Hove."

At present, there are 939 payphones with the 01273 prefix.

Last month, BT confirmed it was carrying out a review of 30,000 payphones around Britain and planned to remove 12,000 classified as under-used.

The move was prompted by a drop in use of payphones, combined with increased demand for internet, email and text messaging terminals.

BT said the intention was to 'thin out' the number of boxes while keeping good geographical cover.

It promised rural areas would not be left without phones.

The work is expected to be completed by March 22.

Mr Lepper said while he applauded BT's plan to provide more multimedia centres, they should be in addition to not instead of payphones.