The quaint village, its phone box library and a rumpus over some very ‘salacious’ books
AS libraries go, the one in Hurstbourne Tarrant is rather small.
The shelves lined with thrillers, classic novels and children’s books are, after all, in a converted public telephone box.
But that hasn’t stopped the library becoming involved in a whodunnit that is gripping the picturesque Hampshire village.
A mystery visitor has been sneaking in and leaving what the parish council describes as pornographic material amid the Dan Browns and JK Rowlings.
It says children could see the ‘salacious adult literature’ and fears the village will become a laughing stock.
Six saucy books are believed to have been left on the shelves.
They were found by a resident who immediately removed them in disgust and is said to have thrown them in a bin. They have refused to divulge the titles involved, saying they want to avert further scandal.
Now the hunt is on to find out whether the culprit is one of the 851 inhabitants of the village, which is in the heart of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and where the average property costs more than £500,000. The parish council issued a plea to residents: ‘We love our red phone box library on Church Street but we don’t love salacious adult literature being left in there.
‘So if whoever is doing so is reading this, please don’t keep leaving inappropriate books – the majority of visitors to the phone box are children. And some of them are tall enough to reach the shelves where the books for grown-ups are. Please find another outlet for your collection.’
The phone box was purchased by the council in 2019 after the mobile library service fell victim to spending cuts in the county.
Residents are able to borrow the books – which include such bestsellers as Carol by Patricia Highsmith and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – and add a short review when they return them.
Hampshire county councillor
Kirsty North said she hoped the books had been left as a joke.
Mrs North helped find the funds to pay for the telephone box and said it had proved very popular.
‘It’s a well-used community library,’ she said. ‘It’s close to the primary school so lots of children use it. It’s been a success.
‘This certainly wasn’t what I had in mind when the village bought the kiosk. It’s unfortunate that this material has been found there.
I should think it’s someone’s idea of a joke or maybe it’s someone who doesn’t live in the village.’
Parish clerk Miriam Edwards said the book-sharing initiative had been abused.
‘This is unacceptable, that literature of this type is being left in a public phone box where it is accessible to children, next to a play area, next to a school,’ she said. ‘A lot of people don’t find this funny.
‘We don’t want this made into some sort of laughing stock and a sideshow when the underlying issue is actually very important.
‘We don’t want somebody acting like it’s OK to put porn in a public phone box.’
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said they believed it was a prank.
‘I have heard that there are some salacious books... I’m number 20 in the queue,’ she joked. ‘It’s a bit like back in the day when you would go into Smiths and always, on the top shelf in particular, there would be those magazines.
‘I think the problems occurred because some of the books have gone down on to the lower shelves with the children’s books.
‘It did make me smile but I can understand why some people would be annoyed.
‘Most parents are quite responsible and will be monitoring which books their children are reading a bit more closely from now on.’
‘It’s close to the school’