THE future of the disconnected telephone box on St Lawrence Green was discussed at a Crediton Town Council meeting on Tuesday, October 27.

The red kiosk is Grade II listed and therefore legally protected, despite it no longer functioning.

Earlier this year it was converted into a camera obscura, with the intention that it would remain so until October, after which it would become a lost glove repository for six months.

But the member of the public who came up with the idea to turn the phone box into a sanctuary for misplaced mittens said it should be permanently made so, lest people, due to its limited lifespan, be unaware of its purpose or not spread the word.

Other suggestions for the kiosk’s future were to make it a freestanding community noticeboard with posters on the inside, keep it as a camera obscura for longer, or both.

Cllr Giles Fawssett said: “I think the camera obscura thing is doing well. I'm quite enjoying going in there.

“It really seems to work – on a bright day. I'm happy to continue like that for the time being.”

Councillors agreed to keep the camera obscura over the winter months and review the situation in the spring, and to put up posters inside the kiosk advertising community events.

A camera obscura (Latin for “dark chamber”) is a darkened box or room with a small hole in one wall. Light passes through the small hole from outside and projects an upside-down image onto the opposite wall.

It works because light rays travel in straight lines and if, for example, light from the top of a tree were to pass through a small hole, it would land low down on the opposite wall, making the image appear upside-down.

The telephone kiosk is due to be repainted “imminently”, according to a report to the town council.