Attendants may be brought back

PAID attendants could be brought back to prevent trouble at a public toilet block.

Weston Town Council is considering the future of the Grove Park toilets in Weston-superMare after years of antisocial behaviour at the site.

The conveniences are known to be used by drug addicts and homeless people seeking a place to stay overnight.

Discarded needles have been found down toilet bowls and drains, and human excrement has been smeared on the walls. The loos have also been subjected to numerous vandalism attacks and have had to close on several occasions for repairs. The drainage system even had to be flushed out by specialist contractors because of the needles.

In the past, the toilets, which are at Grove Park car park and cost 20 pence to use, were run by attendants based on the site. They carried out the cleaning duties and kept the conveniences trouble-free.

Now the town council is looking at the possibility of reintroducing attendants, although the proposal was described as being in the “very early stages”.

It is one of a number of options being considered, which also include replacing the conveniences with a new cafe with toilets and leasing them to an operator to run. The council is also looking again at setting up a community toilet scheme where firms with facilities are paid to allow them to be used by the public.