STEVE Carroll wrote about the "end of the line for 300 phone boxes" (September 1).

There's more to this and BT should come clean.

How many phone boxes are vandalised in the UK and has this escalated in tandem with the protection systems that have been installed?

I can understand the drop in use, but there must be other factors for phone box closures. All readers will have seen boxes with either the glass smashed or disabled in another way.

Is this part of the reason for this action taken by BT? It must add to the cost of keeping phone boxes.

Keith Chapman,

Custance Walk,

St Benedict Road,

Nunnery Lane, York.

Updated: 09:40 Friday, September 03, 2004