Nearly two dozen phone boxes will soon be removed from Somerset towns and villages in the coming months due to their low usage.

BT recently consulted on proposals to remove phone boxes from across the county which were rarely being used – including six in the county town and a number within the Exmoor national park.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has carried out consultations within these communities ahead of a formal decision by both BT and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

All 23 boxes consulted upon now look set to be removed due to low usage – despite locals in many areas claiming they are essential due to poor mobile phone signal.

The council's official response to BT's consultation was published on its website on Tuesday (October 27).

Councillor Chris Booth, portfolio holder for communities, said: "With the spread of mobile telephone communications, the need for public telephone boxes has significantly declined over the past few years and is likely to continue, leading to the current proposals.

"The telephone boxes which are the subject of this proposal have been monitored for 12 months by BT and very low usage (in many cases no use at all) has been recorded."

Here's the full list of phone boxes will be removed in this round – and the average number of calls made from them each month:

Bridgetown (A396 Meadow Cottages) – 0

Brompton Regis (Haddon View) – 0

Burton (Forge Corner) – 0

Corfe (Newton Hill) – 0

Exford (Park Street near the Crown Hotel) – 1

Exton (Exton Lane near Red Door Farm) – 0

Langley Marsh (Blackwater Lane near the Three Horseshoes) – 0

Luccombe (near Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary) – 1

Luckwell Bridge (B3224 near the River Quarme) – 1

North Curry (The Pavement) – 2

Porlock (New Road near the village hall) – 5

Skilgate (near Post Lane) – 0

Simonsbath (B3223 near the Exmoor Forest Inn) – 0

Stogursey (Vicarage Road) – 0

Taunton (Cheddon Road) – 31

Taunton (Eastwick Road) – 11

Taunton (Farrant Close) – 2

Taunton (Holway Green) – 12

Taunton (Priorswood Road) – 6

Taunton (Wordsworth Drive) – 6

Watchet (Liddymore Road) – 4

Withypool (New Bridge Road near the post office) – 3

Wiveliscombe (West Street) – 3

Where phone boxes are decommissioned and disconnected from the phone network, communities can buy the physical asset and re-purpose it – for instance, for storing a defibrillator.

Several parish councils have objected to the boxes being removed, arguing that limited phone signal into their area will make it difficult to contact the emergency services in times of need.

A spokesman for Luccombe Parish Council said: "There is no mobile phone signal in Luccombe and the phone box could be the only connection to the outside world and the emergency services in the event of an emergency.

"We recently had such an emergency with an injury and fire that could have spread to the moor. The injured man was unable to use a mobile phone and had to rely on others in the village to make the call to the fire brigade.

"In the event of a power cut, the only facility would have been the public phone box.

The Exmoor National Park Authority has also objected to the proposed removal, citing the damage it will cause to the 1.36m visitors who come to the park each year.

A spokesman said: "There is very patchy mobile phone coverage due to the terrain and landscape within the national park – most notably the steep combes inhibit mobile phone reception.

"Even if a mast is not far away, a signal cannot always be accessed in the bottom of the valleys.

"Public telephone boxes may be used at any time, whereas premises that offer access to a payphone facility may have only limited opening hours or access.

There is an extensive rights of way network across Exmoor, with over 1000km of rights of way open to walkers.

"Walking tends to be the most popular outdoor recreation activity on Exmoor; therefore, it is important, as a general approach, that the public telephone box network within the national park be maintained for emergency and other important telephone calls."