“A case has been made to the retention of every kiosk under threat,” said Douglas Scott, from Scottish Borders Council’s business improvement unit.

Thursday’s meeting of the council unanimously approved Mr Scott’s recommendation for no closures and agreed to tell BT that each payphone had an important role to play.

According to Councillor David Raw the closure programme “showed the folly of the privatisation of our public utilities”.

And BT itself was accused of deliberately creating a reduction in demand by replacing coin boxes with card-operated systems.

One such kiosk is in Craik Forest close to an outdoor centre, mountain biking routes and holiday log cabins. The local community council felt this was a key tourism location and that the kiosk should be cleaned more regularly and returned to coin usage.The council’s response came just in time to meet BT’s consultation deadline of yesterday, but to reinforce the message, SBC is also to press the Scottish Government to intervene and bring further pressure to bear against the closures.

Mr Scott made the case for retention across three criteria: the threatened kiosks were in places with restricted or no mobile phone coverage; they were in areas popular with tourists and visitors who may need to report accidents or crimes; or there was a pressing social need because of residential isolation.

BT maintained the kiosks were losing money because of low usage, reflecting a UK trend which had seen calls made from its payphones halved in the last three years.

But Councillor Michael Cook said the consultation exercise was “bogus claptrap”. He recalled how he had reported to BT several times the fact that the door was missing from the kiosk at Burnmouth harbour where no mobile signal was available. “I basically got a two-fingered response from BT: they were just not interested,” he claimed.

Tory councillor Carolyn Riddell-Carre supported the council’s response but took umbrage at the suggestion privatisation was to blame.

“If there had been no privatisation, there would have been no mobile phone network ... the fact is people don’t want to go to smelly phone boxes.”

SBC is also to ask BT that, if it decides to close traditional red telephone boxes, these should be offered to local communities. It follows representation from, among others, Redpath Village Hall Association which believed the red kiosks were “important elements in their villages”.

Local MP Michael Moore said he had been “very encouraged” by the response from constituents against the BT plans, adding: “While these payphones may be seldom used, there are no alternatives and it is no exaggeration to say they may make the difference between life and death.”