Unprofitable phone boxes are gradually being removed from the county.

BT bosses say that although there are no plans to phase out the iconic booths, there are now only 1,300 left in the county – a reduction of around a third in just six years.

The boxes, which have seen a massive decline in use since the introduction of mobiles, are now increasingly a target for vandals.

Kelly Coomber, 26, this week claimed a neglected booth had given her three-year-old daughter Lexie an electric shock.

Ms Coomber, of Gladstone Road, Portslade, said the youngster was not seriously hurt, is now scared to even go near the box outside the Sainsbury’s Local in Portland Road, Hove.

A BT spokesman said: “We were made aware that a vehicle may have hit the kiosk on July 14.

“Our engineer visited the kiosk the same day and made all the appropriate safety checks.

“There were no live wires exposed at this time.

When we were made aware on 12 August 2010 that there were exposed wires at the site, an engineer visited the kiosk the same evening.

“He found that the wires had already been made safe.

“We requested an electricity disconnection and this was disconnected straight away by EDF.”