Heswall Lower Village was ahead of the curve back in the spring of 2018.

It was then that the village's old red phone box, thanks to the hard work of the Heswall Society and generous donations of almost £500 made by readers of Heswall hyperlocal news, was formally adopted and given a nice lick of red and gold paint.

At the time, in common with other small communities, ideas for giving the box a new purpose in life were raised.

Here at Heswall Nub News we've explored what has been done elsewhere.

A popular new addition to some old boxes across the country has been a defibrillator - a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

Although the ambulance service is not too far away from Lower Heswall, the quick application of a defibrillator to someone in crisis can mean the difference between life and death.

Now, BT has geared up its long standing efforts to persuade other communities to adopt their old kiosks for as little as £1.

James Browne of BT said: "With most people now using mobile phones, it's led to a huge drop in the number of calls made from payphones.

"We're currently rationalising our payphone estate to make it fit for the future, and the 'Adopt a Kiosk' scheme makes it possible for local communities in the UK to retain their local phone box with a refreshed purpose.

"Thousands of communities have already come up with a fantastic array of ideas to reuse their beloved local phone box."

Martin Fagan, national secretary of the Community Heartbeat Trust charity, is right behind the defibrillator idea.

He said: "BT's phone box kiosks are iconic British structures and repurposing them for a lifesaving use has given them a new lease of life. To date we have converted about 800, with 200 more in the pipeline.

"Placing the equipment in the heart of a community is important to save on time. Kiosks are historically at the centre of the community, and thus great locations for defibrillators."

The iconic British red phone box was the result of a competition held in 1924 to design a telephone box suitable for London Metropolitan Boroughs. Architect Giles Gilbert Scott took the honours and the box, known as the K2, started to be installed in London two years later. It was the Post Office's idea to paint them red. Because of the expense of manufacturing them, not many K2's got beyond the capital.

Hence the Lower Heswall box is a K6. Introduced in 1935 to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V, it was a smaller version of the K2 and was installed across the country.

So - a defibrillator for the Lower Heswall box? We would need to do a little fund-raising and rely on the support of the Heswall Society.

Let us know any thoughts over on the Heswall Nub News Facebook page.