VILLAGERS in Shirley now have an innovative new use for their old redundant phone box after one of their neighbours filled it with free books.
Villager Martyn Glover spotted an appeal for ideas of what to do with the phone box in the community’s February newsletter after the Parish Council bough it from British Telecom for £1.
As soon as he read the article an idea formed in his head and he took it upon himself to tailor-make shelves for the interior before filling it with around 100 of his own unwanted books, creating a brand new free library.
The idea quickly caught on and now the once useless structure has become a busy exchange centre for villagers wanting to swap their old books for ones they have not yet read.
Mr Glover, an Ashbourne Postman who has lived in the village for around 10 years, has counted the number of books in the phone box - which has now grown to around 250 - with a small handful of DVDs.
The 53-year-old, from Church Lane, said: “I just thought to myself ‘I know what to do’ so I built some shelves in it and put a load of my old books in and now it’s grown really quickly.
“I thought it would take off, we have a lot of tourists passing through that can make use of it and then there’s all the regular visitors to the pub. I’m happy for anyone to take a book.
“It’s great for the summer, if someone’s sitting in a garden and they’ve finished the book they’re reading they can now pop across the road and pick up another one.
“I’ve lived here for a long time and I wanted to give something back to the village and I think this is a really positive thing for us to have. I’d encourage other villages to do the same thing.” Although Shirley is served by a mobile library the idea has captured the imagination of the locals who call in regularly to exchange books. The phone box even has its own Facebook page.
Willam Ellis, from Shirley Parish Council - which bought the phone box and pays for its up-keep - agrees that it is a good idea for the community.
He said: “We discussed it on Monday and we think it’s great.
The Parish Council certainly welcomes it and we’re all quite happy with what Martyn has acheived.” The free library is due to go out of service temporarily over the summer while the phone box is treated to a much-needed paint-job but Martyn promises the books will be put straight back and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
