A campaign has been launched to save Wellington's last remaining red telephone box which has fallen into a 'shocking' state of disrepair. 

The dire state of the old phone box, located on the corner of Tone Hill and Milverton Road, has provoked ire and upset among residents. 

What once was an essential local amenity has been overcome by weeds, and put to use both as a toilet and a bin. 

When journalists from the Wellington Weekly visited the phone box they discovered what appeared to be a bottle of human urine perched atop a small pile of old books. 

Parts of the interior were seen damaged by what is thought to have been acts of vandalism - with energy drink cans littering the floor.

The exterior of the phone box was being consumed by weeds which had begun to ingress and its paint was seen in plain need of refreshing. 

The phone was removed from the site some years ago, but unlike some other phone box’s which were repurposed as book exchanges, Tone Hill’s phone box remains out of use.

The eyesore was branded ‘shocking’ by one local resident, who called for action to be taken to restore the historic fixture.

They said: “I don’t want to see it gone, it is a part of our history. But I don’t want to see it in this state, it’s shocking. 

“It should be refurbished and repurposed like they do elsewhere, it’s a shame not to put it to good use.” 

The call was backed by Wellington mayor Cllr Marcus Barr who pledged to raise the issue at the town council.

Cllr Barr said: "Red telephone boxes are part of British heritage and culture and we should do everything we can to preserve them.

"It is such a shame that we now only have one left in Wellington. I would not like to see it go.

"A lot of communities have repurposed red telephone boxes where they have been able to save them so I would like to look at what we can do with the telephone box at Tone Hill.

"I will make sure the town council discusses this at the earliest opportunity."

It is understood the council explored taking action in 2020, but the initiative did not proceed beyond an initial investigation.