One man's brilliant idea to transform a disused phone box into a coffee shop in Hounslow has landed him in hot water with the council.

51-year-old entrepreneur Mustafa Mehmet was born and raised in London and has "worked in the catering game" his whole life.

He comes from a family of street traders and started off selling hot dogs and burgers from barrows in the West End before heading up a large canteen for Tideway employees in Fulham.

Mr Mehmet has had an tricycle which he sells ice creams from in Hammersmith Broadway for years but his latest project has seen him turn an abandoned red phone box in Turnham Green into a compact coffee bar.

While residents and costumers are pleased to see the iconic red box on the corner of Chiswick High Road and Town Hall Avenue put to use, Mr Mehmet claims Hounslow Council have told him he's breaking the law.

Speaking to getwestlondon Mr Mehmet said: "A friend mentioned he'd seen a phone box used as a coffee shop in Hampstead Heath and I thought what a brilliant idea.

"I mean these phone boxes, there's one outside where I worked in Fulham, and people used to just smash it up, graffiti all over it and even go in there and take drugs and urinate in it.

"And I thought surely there's a way we could make use of these."

Mr Mehmet explained he looked into what could be done with disused phone boxes and found a company in Brighton called The Red Kiosk Company (RKC) which leases them out.

Born and bred Londoner Mustafa Mehmet wanted to out the disused phone box to good use by making it a coffee and snacks bar

RKC struck a deal with BT to develop the iconic red units into independent retails spaces in 2012 and since then food and drink entrepreneurs have set up in them across the country.

Mr Mehmet's phone box on the corner of Chiswick High Road and Town Hall Avenue cost him around £10,000 to set up.

He opened the coffee shop in the first week of July and pays £75 a week to rent it, which includes business rates.

Lots of Turnham Green residents think the phone box coffee shop is "fantastic", according to Mr Mehmet

He said: "The telephone box itself is a listed building, so we can't do anything to the outside of it - we have to keep it red and maintained but we're allowed to do what we can on the inside.

"Before we opened I had to replace the glass panels that were broken, disinfect the whole unit and clean it, make some shelving inside - we've got electricity in there which is good. Other than that we basically just had to bring the equipment and set it all up."

The box was broken into just two days after it opened but after the initial set back Mr Mehmet says it's had plenty of positive attention.

"It's quiet at the moment because lots of people are on holiday but people have been stopping by every single day and taking photos and saying what a fantastic idea it is," he said.

"Nine out of 10 people who pass by there say they love it and are glad we're making use of the phone box."

Mustafa Mehmet (left) and Isabella Fideli, who works at the Turnham Green phone box coffee shop

Mr Mehmet is yet to make back the £10,000 he spent on setting the mini coffee shop but has big plans for its future.

He has one employee, Isabella, who works at the Turnham Green phone box but already hopes to open another one at London Bridge and wants to employ disabled people, who may normally struggle to find work, to staff it.

But Mr Mehmet claims his good intentions have come up against a huge barrier in the form of Hounslow Council, who he says have told him what he's doing is illegal and that he has been issued him with three fixed penalty notice fines since the start of July.

Mr Mehmet claims Hounslow Council told him unless he serves coffee from within the phone box itself then what he's doing is illegal

Mr Mehmet said: "We've been having some issues with the council.

"When I first took the lease of the box on we were told the planning permission has A1 use - which means we're allowed to sell hot and cold drinks and snacks, but no hot food.

"So we took it on with that intention but a few weeks ago we had a Hounslow Council enforcement officer come round and tell us what we we're doing is illegal.

"And I was like - hang on a minute - how is it illegal? And they told us we don't have a street traders' licence. I told him we don't need a street traders' licence because we're not street trading, we're selling coffee out of the box."

According to Mr Mehmet the officer told him the only way he could sell coffee legally with his current licence would be if he and the customer both stood inside the phone box while the transaction took place.

Mr Mehmet said: "We were told the machine has to be inside the box, I have to be in the box and so does the customer - there's no space to do that!"

Mr Mehmet alleges his application to put chairs and an ice cream vending tricycle by the phone box were rejected by the council

Mr Mehmet claims the council have told him he needs a street traders' licence just to be able to stand outside of the phone box and sell coffee. But he believes he doesn't need a street trading licence because his business is operating from a fixed phone box.

He alleged: "I've been issued with three fixed penalty fines for £150 a go - that's £450 in total. The council asked me to put an application in for a street trading license, I've done that but I thought at the time I'd also apply for an ice cream tricycle to be on the side of it and they objected to it.

"Then I re-applied and asked to have some tables and chairs out there and they've objected to that as well - they're saying it's unsafe for the public because it's obstructing the highway - but we're inside the park, on the other side of the railings so I don't see how that's obstructing the highway."

An exasperated Mr Mehmet added: "I'm going to make a big fuss out of this now.

"It's very upsetting and very frustrating because here we are trying to do something, to make use of an iconic part of London - the phone box - and to put people back into work and someone in the council has decided to make difficult for us - it's mad!"

Hounslow Council has been contacted for comment.