A 1950s telephone box in a village centre has been repurposed as an exchange point for CDs, DVDs and books. 

The exchange, in Great Oakley High Street, was the idea of parish councillor Nick Daniels who finished the project with the help of Great Oakley Parish Council.

Residents can use the exchange to share CDs, DVDs, reference or factual books and books for children aged under 12s.

Mr Daniels said: “Originally it was just a phone box back in the day near the old post office before it was moved to the High Street, its fallen into disrepair over the years.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard: Fixing - Mr Daniels setting up the exchange.Fixing - Mr Daniels setting up the exchange. (Image: Newsquest)

“The parish council bought the box and we looked into how much it would cost to get it restored.

“The original plan was to sort out the conversion as a celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee but as she has passed it is now a memorial as well.”

Mr Daniels was inspired to launch the conversion by his daughters who live in London and have spoken about similar spots around the city.

The parish council funded the exchange by paying for all the materials including paint, new window glasses, heating, night lights and shelving material.

To protect the exchange, Great Oakley Parish Council had the telephone box listed preserving it for future use.

Mr Daniels added: “These projects can be quite costly, if you look on ebay they are sold for more than £1,000.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard: Finishing Touches - Shelving at the exchangeFinishing Touches - Shelving at the exchange (Image: Newsquest)

“We are just waiting to see what people think of the exchange, we have enough fictional book capability in the village, seed banks have been suggested or it could be further developed into a lending library.”

Currently, the shelves are one third full but there is an overflow bin in place for when residents begin to utilise the exchange more.

Mr Daniels said: “It’s an opportunity to share things and that’s the main point.

“We want people to exchange things, once you’ve watched a DVD you tend not to use it again especially with streaming nowadays.

“Not everyone has the money to pay for streaming services every month as well so this could be a great help for the community.”