Am I the only one to think that the public toilets on Princess Road could be more accurately be described as a public disgrace?
Here is a personal experience from last week (not for the squeamish);
I was in need of a 'call' and so entered the toilets. Walking across the floor was a little like paddling at the seaside, but much less pleasant. After wading through the cigarette butts and goodness know what else I became aware of a sour faced man, all in black, lurking outside the cubicles (or 'traps', as we called them at school) who was enthusiasticaly scratching his nether regions.
I entered Trap Number One and did what I had to do. As an IBS sufferer I tend to take longer than the average person, which gave me time to view the graffiti on the back of the un-lockable door which read like a thousand word C.V. of someones sexual perversions. If I'd only had a newspaper I could have read that instead; it would have served a double purpose as there was no loo roll. I finally exited the trap to find the man still there, still scratching his crown jewels.
I had originally assumed he was the attendant; if so, he gets paid to scratch his knackers. There is a more sinister explanation, but I'm trying not to think about it.
Disgusting and disgraceful.

Town: Ashton

I agree - only used them once but never again. If in need I pop into Tom and Jerrys or the bookies. Strange that there seems to be a national obsession with removing the locking system from toilet doors also those little hooks where you hang your coat.

It wasn`t too long ago that Nigel Ash and Ann Rampling got the Metro to do those toilets up and the promise was to maintain them on a regular basis . sounds like empty promises?

Town: Stubshie

I have seen the toilets on Princess Road and let me tell you the ladies are just the same. But for toilets in pubs you have not seen anything until you go into Mad Jacks, they are made of breeze block with thin wooden doors which touch the toilet when you open them, no toilet seat, no locks on doors and no loo roll so you have to squat with one hand on the door to keep people out and they have what seems to be a cleaning cupboard at the end that is wet through with damp and for all this they actually charge you £2 entrance fee. Needless to say I wont be going again.

Town: Ashton

Hi
Re Mad Jacks, the premises are subjet to EHO inspections, how come they are like this?
Puzzled

Town: Ashton

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and I am sorry to hear of your experience. I have contacted the councils cleansing department and told them about the state of the toilets and they have promised me they are going to clean them up.

Town: Ashton

Thank you all for your contributions; I'm glad I'm not the only one! Still haven't found out if that guy was an attendant. And thanks, Ann. It will be interesting to see what happens re the cleansing department.

Town: Ashton

At least yours are open, I can not remember when the ones in Golborne were last unlocked.

Town: Golborne

Ashton's loos are surely open. Open to any old scum. I'm not sure which is worse; open and disgusting or closed and a quicky on the (former) slagheap.

Town: Ashton

Hi yes I am an old Astonian only been exiled a few years,but still a frequent visitor to my home town.
I remember those toilets being built for what I thought at the time was an astronomical amount of money, especially when soon after they were opened to the public having been caught short a few times, I found they were not (open) they used to be locked up at a very early time of the day.
On a recent visit I had occasion to run to the loo again,keeping my fingers and everything else crossed in case I was going to find them locked.Luckily or unluckily I found them open but to my dismay I found they were in a worse condition than the old 'White City' toilets that they replaced.How can this have been allowed to happen after all that money was spent to rebuild them?
Surely it would have been better to have attendents in them and put a charge on....I for one don't mind paying for decent toilets and lock them up at night as I suspect thats when most of the damage is done.
Its no good trying to develop a town centre that will attract visitors if you are not going to have decent amenities.

Town: Newcastle upo Tyne

Bless you, Mr. Postle. I have visited the Ashton toilets since my initial message (despite vowing I would never go there again). The ********* have gone. Hooray! However, the urinal was blocked and the floor was still flooded. The toilets still don't make me proud to be an Ashtonian. I'm considering moving to Newcastle, and if I become your near neighbour I'll make **** sure that all your local amenities come up to the basic standards of hygiene.