Students sent email on how to use the lavatories

A UNIVERSITY has told its students to stop defecating in the showers and dustbins, blaming the problem on its “multicultural population”.

Students at the University of Strathclyde were warned about inappropriate lavatory habits, and told that although “different countries have different practices”, they should be aware that “here in the UK the accepted practice is to use only the WC”.

The email was sent by the operations management team at the university’s Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) after complaints from cleaners.

The ticking off over disgusting lavatory habits went to about 400 students and 250 staff at the £89 million science hub which opened in 2015 in Glasgow.

“Given the incidence of people pooing in bins, showers and the like – can I please remind all TIC occupants that the toilets have been provided for that specific purpose,” students were told.

The university later apologised for the email, saying that it “contained sentiments that are completely contrary to our institutional values”. It said the email should never have been sent and vowed to ensure “all future communications are appropriate and are consistent with our ethos”.

The official website for the state-ofthe-art facility describes it as a home for “researchers, engineers and project managers from academia and industry, who will work side-by-side on projects spanning future cities, manufacturing, health and energy”.

One insider reportedly told the Daily Record newspaper: “You wouldn’t imagine problems like this at a place at the forefront of technology. This building houses some of the most intelligent brains in the world – yet they don’t appear to know how to use the toilet.”

A spokesman for the university said: “We have apologised for any offence caused to colleagues...it was recalled as soon as it came to our attention and we swiftly issued an apology. We are reviewing the circumstances relating to its circulation.”