Loved by tourists and locals, the symbolic red phone box in the UK is now being repurposed for social projects as the rise of the mobile phone has led to a sharp decline in their use.

From the 1920s, the phone boxes served communities across the UK and kept them in touch with one another.

However, the cost of maintaining the network has prompted BT (formerly British Telecom) to look for a new future for the red cast-iron boxes.

BT is offering them up to be adopted for $1.40 for a worthy social cause, to avoid removing the much-loved cubicles.

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James Browne, head of street at BT, told AP: "Well, clearly these red phone boxes are part of the aesthetic of the UK and people love them.

"So, for us, it was about allowing people to keep them but then put them to some positive social purpose – and so that's why we came up with the idea of letting people adopt them."

Some communities have used their local red box as a mini-museum, while others have used it as a library.

The "Adopt a Kiosk" scheme was launched in 2008 and has given a new lease of life to phone boxes in more than 5,000 communities across the UK. 

There now are 4,000 more up for adoption and it will be interesting to see how they are repurposed.