NO POLICE stations will be closed if Dr Who-style kiosks are introduced to Lancashire’s streets, bosses have pledged.

Plans have been drawn up for a £70,000 call box, similar to those immortalised by Dr Who’s time travelling Tardis in the BBC drama.

No location has been decided, but a funding bid has been submitted to Lancashire County Council.

If the cash is secured, it will be built by the end of year and then rolled out across the county if the project proves a success.

According to Lancashire Police, the scheme will be based on a similar project in Scotland, where the kiosks were built “to manage public concern” after a number of police stations were closed.

In their bid submission, Lancashire police bosses also point out that the kiosks in Scotland are used by more people than regular stations.

But a Lancashire Police spokesman said: “This is certainly not a replacement for any services. It is purely an addition to the services we already provide.”

Blue police boxes were once common in every town and city and as a first calling point for residents.

But they were phased out with the advent of phone boxes and then mobile telephones.

But now it is thought they could have a role to play to give people easy access to the range of different stories the police provide and become a “meeting point” and “present reassuring messages.”

In the funding bid, Insp Richard Hughes, project manager of the citizen focus team, said the intention was to encourage young people to use the boxes by using bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology.

He said he wanted the kiosks to become “iconic and a source of local pride.”