A pensioner has really answered the call of nature – after converting a red telephone box into a TOILET in his back garden.
John Long, 73, bought the iconic BT kiosk two years ago from a reclamation yard and set about converting it into a functional outdoor loo.
The retired salesman fitted a porcelain toilet bowl and a high-level cistern – all connected to the mains sewer – a washbasin, and a soap tray.
He even installed frosted glass for privacy and a heater for those chilly winter mornings.
Married John, who lives near Taunton, Somerset, said: ”I’ve wanted a telephone kiosk for donkey’s years and then one night in bed, the idea just came to me to do it as a toilet.
”Before I bought it I made sure that I could fit everything in. There is a red telephone kiosk 300 yards from where I live and I crept out after dark and carried a toilet pan down and measured up and hoped no one would see me.
”I finally finished up a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. It even works better than the one in the bungalow because of the high-level cistern – you get better speed and a greater rush of water.”
John’s phone box even features quirky calling cards plastered to the back wall, to make it as authentic as possible.
The tray he keeps the soap in by the washbasin is also authentic – he found it in a ditch after it had been ripped off a derelict local phone box.
The washbasin is made from an old water fountain John sourced from the same reclamation yard, and he used Fablon to frost the windows.
His kiosk is now fitted against the back of his bungalow, and John loves it so much he uses it instead of the toilet inside the house because of its superior flushing.
He added: ”I love using it. I thought when I did it originally I thought it would probably be rarely used, but I just nip out of the house because it’s a better toilet.
”I even made a catch for the door so you can be secure in there and have some privacy.
”The working out for the whole thing took ages, because I didn’t want to make the mess of it.
”There were a number of problems I had to overcome – I had to go down through the concrete to get to my existing sewage, then install pipes up to the kiosk.”