No surprise, really, as the phone box at Pennan harbour is the one which gained star quality in the film, Local Hero, when Hollywod icon Burt Lancaster would phone it.

Graded as a listed building, the booth is a renowned landmark, attracting tourists to the village from as far afield as Japan and Australia, who make a pilgrimage to visit the kiosk and await a call.

But that does not mean many coins are going into payphone — visitors may be using their mobile phones to phone friends, asking them to call the red box, as Burt Lancaster's character did in the film.

A BT official spokesman wanted to make it clear that there are no plans to close the Pennan box, – or any other kiosks in Scotland.

He said: "We are committed to keeping these rural boxes open. There was a five-year programme to thin out the least used boxes, but that is finished."

To keep the amenity shiny and red on the edge of the seawall, it is covered in special protective paint, the same stuff used on oil rigs.

The Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership pledged to defend the box from any future threats. They are hoping to get it into the Guinness Book of Records soon, by cramming a world-record number of people into it.

Chairman of the partnership, Karen Crowe, said: "This is, undoubtedly, the most famous phone booth in the world.

"Every year, a wealth of tourists from throughout the world make the trip to Pennan to visit the legendary landmark and ask family and friends to call them back at the box, which has resulted in the booth becoming the most called kiosk in Scotland.

"More than 20 years on, due to the popularity of 'Local Hero', large numbers of visitors still visit the village, with the red phone booth being a major draw. It has put Pennan firmly on the tourism map.

"The phone box is not only a significant tourism draw and acknowledged as a listed building, but it provides a vital lifeline for the rural community of Pennan."

The partnership would even write to the stars of the film to recruit their support to safeguard the landmark, says Karen.

Banff and Buchan MP Alex Salmond is another supporter of the phone box network: "They are still a vital part of local communities, particularly in constituencies such as mine, where large areas still do not have mobile phone reception.

"Not everyone has a fully charged mobile phone at all times, and the local call box remains a lifeline service.

"The volume of calls may often be lower than before, but the call could be an emergency.

"The phone box in Pennan – from where in 'Local Hero' you could famously 'call anywhere in the world' – put the village on the map, and is still the most dialled-into box in Scotland."

A poll for the Film Distributors Association awarded Local Hero with the honour of best use of location in Britain for its use of Pennan as a setting.

In the comedy, Burt Lancaster's oil company wants to buy up the local beach to build an oil refinery, and his assistant uses the box to phone his boss for instructions.

Ironically, the film company covered up the real box and set up a dummy one nearby, in a better spot for filming. And another real box used in some scenes, at Pole of Itlaw, was taken away two years ago in the most recent purge of boxes.

BT say they are happy to continue to bear the cost of running their 6,000 Scottish kiosks, which cost an average £1,600 each to maintain every year.

boardman_g@spp-group.com

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