Ex-Serviceman Converts Red Phone Box into Mini Bar in His Garden

A former Royal Signals corporal has turned a classic red phone box into a unique minibar and installed it in his garden.

52-year-old Lee Copeland from North Yorkshire bought the iconic British kiosk for £1,800 five years ago, fulfilling a long-time dream.

Inside the 1930s phone box, Lee has fitted bar optics, an old telephone, a radio, and disco lights. He describes red phone boxes as quintessentially British landmarks.

Lee, a telecoms engineer, is fascinated by the history and nostalgia evoked by the kiosks. He imagines all the life events and conversations in them over nearly a century.

The kiosk now has a permanent home in Lee’s garden in Ingleby Barwick. He is a member of the Red Phone Box Appreciation Society.

In 2008, BT introduced an Adopt a Kiosk program, allowing communities to acquire unused boxes for just £1. Over 7,200 have found a new purpose through this initiative.

While exact numbers have dwindled, around 20,000 working payphones still exist in the UK, with 3,000 as traditional red kiosks. The peak was about 100,000 in the 1990s.

Lee’s repurposed phone box is a creative way to preserve an iconic piece of British heritage. It now serves both nostalgia and fun in his backyard.

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