New life is to sprout from a pair of decommissioned Oxenhope phone boxes.

They will be used to accommodate a plant-swap scheme.

Parish councillor Tony Jones had agreed to look into how the traditional kiosks – in Marsh Lane and in Denholme Road, Leeming – could be used, now that their phones had been removed.

Coun Jones told a meeting of Oxenhope Parish Council that many other councils used their empty phone kiosks to house book-swap schemes, but he pointed out that the phone box in Leeming was damp and may not be suitable for books.

He said a local resident had suggested a plant swap instead, and the parish council agreed to try out the idea.

Coun Reg Hindley said he was sceptical about the long-term viability of the kiosks. He said that such structures were more likely to be well looked after in those cases where they became features in people’s private gardens.