Call for volunteers to paint Highgate’s iconic telephone boxes

Activists are calling for volunteers to help them restore Highgate’s iconic red telephone boxes to their former glory.

Allan Rapley, of the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum, and Andrew Sulston, of the Highgate Society, have teamed up to renovate six historic telephone boxes dotted around Highgate Village, which date back to the 1920s and 1930s.

British Telecom, which owns the boxes, has mended broken lights, replaced panes of glass and repaired faulty phones while Mr Sulston and Mr Rapley have been busy cleaning the insides of the boxes and removing flaking paint.

But they need to recruit a large team of about 30 volunteers to help them re-paint the boxes in their iconic red hue.

British Telecom has advised the campaign leaders to wait until April as the type of paint used on the boxes does not dry in cold weather.

Contact Mr Sulston or Mr Rapley on andrewsulston@yahoo.com or rapley@talktalk.net to sign up.