‘My public toilet anxiety left me trapped at home’

The Local Government Association said: “The lack of public toilets can disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, including older people, people with disabilities, those with medical conditions, babies and children and people that find themselves sleeping rough.

“Funding pressures have caused councils to rethink provision, the maintenance of a public toilet could cost a council £25,000 a year, a figure which is greatly impacted by the condition in which they are left by their previous users.

“Vandalism and anti-social behaviour cost councils millions of pounds a year which means councils having to invest into more regular cleaning and better security, meaning that the taxpayer foots the bill for vandalism in this most basic of public provisions”.

It said many councils have attempted to address and prevent gaps in provision and multi-year funding settlements would enable local government to plan the transformation, rather than the closure, of facilities.