DEMOLITION work is about to start to make way for a town square.

People are advised that the Middlegate public toilets, on Hartlepool's Headland, will be closed, from Monday.

Hartlepool Borough Council is removing them for the anticipated start, next month, of a major project to create a town square on the Headland.

The demolition is to start on October 3 and will take about a week. But the toilets have to be shut in advance to allow water and electricity to be disconnected.

The town square project is being organised by the North Hartlepool Partnership, with money from regional development agency One NorthEast. The square is seen as a way to revitalise the Headland area.

The toilets will be replaced with up-to-date toilet facilities as part of the project.

Richard Starrs, project manager with Hartlepool council, said: "We apologise for any inconvenience which this toilet closure may cause.

"There will be signs in place to direct people to the nearest alternative public toilets, at the Pilot Pier and the Lighthouse."