Phone Box Library #70 Feering, Essex

As reported in This Is Total Essex, the seventieth phone box library has opened. This can be found in the village of Feering in Essex halfway between Braintree and Colchester and has a population of about 2,000.

The phone box had been disconnected for a number of years and the parish council looked into suggests for what to do with it:-

Feering parish council chairman, Paul Petto, said: "It was one of the locals who lives nearby who suggested using it as a book exchange. They saw something similar while they were on holiday."

The parish council was told that they could buy the phone box for £1, or BT would take it away.

Paul said: "It was in a bit of a state, then one of the local residents, Terry Wilson, did it all up and painted it nicely and the village handyman put some shelves in, too."

Terry, 71, is a former BT engineer.

However, it following the worrying new trend this phone box is kept locked at nights, so it isn't the usual 24 hour access.

The locals seem to like it.

Chris Bonney, whose wife Anne suggested the book exchange, said: "I think what's noticeable because we live so close to it is that people stop at the post office and haven't got any books, but then they have a look at what we've done and go back and get some to do an exchange. It's lovely to see."

There are five shelves, so around 120 books, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code is in attendance, although there are reports that more children's books are required.

The village of Feering is serviced by a mobile library which comes for four hours every fortnight, also the nearest public library is in Coggeshall, about two and a half miles away.