The famous red phone boxes that are synonymous with England are left disuse all over London, or they were until now. The phone boxes have been given new life as solar powered charging stations, along with a new green paint job.

The first of six Solarboxes was revealed on Tottenham Court Road. The box delivers power for free to mobiles using a selection of connectors to work with most devices.

The roof-mounted 86cm solar panel is able to charge 100 phones per day. It can manage a 20 per cent battery boost in 10 minutes, according to the BBC.  

Since the solar box launched about 6 people have been using it per hour to charge their phones. While the box is free there are adverts displayed to the person as they wait for their device to charge – this is how the project was paid for. Although 30 per cent of advertising space is reserved for community projects.

We love the idea of people needing to go into phone boxes to make calls, just like the old days of land lines – but free.

Co-creator of the project Harold Cranston, a former geography student, says: "There are 8,000 of these lying unused in London and we must be able to find a use for them."

Five more boxes will be ready for use by April 2015.

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