A CAMPAIGN to “save our toilets” has been started by furious councillors after public loos were vandalised three times in less than a month after an £18,000 revamp.

Vandals have daubed offensive graffiti, broken locks, damaged doors and pulled off toilet roll holders in the car park toilets in Bridge Street, Bedale. It’s estimated the latest damage will cost up to £1,000 to repair.

“It’s just appalling,” said the mayor, Cllr Andy Hallett. “It’s only a few weeks since a large amount of money was spent improving them. Since then they’ve been vandalised three times, we want to ask people in the town to help us find who is responsible and help us to safeguard the toilets.

“This is public money, we cannot afford to keep repairing them. The big concern eventually is that we would have to close them, we cannot constantly pay out money to keep them open.”

Cllr Christine Mollard added: "It really is disgraceful, it gives a terrible impression to visitors to the town - the whole point is that this is a service for the public and it is being ruined by mindless vandalism.

“We really need to find out who is doing this, we suspect it will be the same people. The police are looking through CCTV, but if anyone has any information we really would appeal to them to come forward.”

Work on upgrading the toilets was finished just before the Tour de Yorkshire came through Bedale for the first time in May. The town council had put in coin operated doors so anyone using them now has to pay 20p and the toilets are locked at 6pm each evening.

Vodka bottles and food cartons have also been found. The latest damage was discovered on Tuesday morning when staff found internal locks and toilet roll holders, which had only been repaired on Friday, had been wrecked again. Other public toilets in Bedale Hall Park have also been damaged in the past few weeks with excrement daubed on the walls which had to be professionally cleaned.

“We are asking the community to support this campaign to save the toilets, it is important for a town like Bedale that we have public toilets. It is a lovely place but this causes harm. I cannot understand why anyone would do this. As a council we are doing everything we can to improve the town and this is so disappointing,” added Cllr Hallett.