THE Winsford community is calling for the public toilets in the town centre to be reopened after six months of having no toilet facilities.

Town centre owners Mar Properties made the decision to close the public toilets in Dingle Walk near to the post office in February citing physical abuse, drug taking and anti-social behaviour as the reasons behind the decision.

At the time, Winsford Cross Shopping Centre manager Stewart Porter told the Guardian that the situation would be reviewed in the near future.

Six months on, the toilets remain closed and members of the Winsford community are beginning to turn their backs on the town centre because of the lack of toilet facilities.

Stephen O’Brien, 66, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said: “I’m a senior citizen and I’m partially disabled and it stops me from going into the town.

“For the past six months there has been no toilet facilities and now where do I go for shopping? Where do I go for a cup of coffee? I can’t go to Winsford because there are no public toilets. It’s that important.

“The only place to go is Asda and it shouldn’t be left to Asda to provide toilet facilities.”

Cllr Charlie Parkinson, member of Winsford Town Council, is calling for Mar to reopen the toilets.

He says that offering no toilet facilities in the town centre for the elderly is ‘absolutely disgraceful.’ Cllr Parkinson said: “An old gentleman went to use the toilet recently, only to find they had were closed and he actually wet himself.

“Somebody out of one of the shops had to wrap a towel around him. That really wound me up that did. It’s an absolute disgrace.

“It’s the 21st century and we’re acting like a third world country. We can’t even provide toilets for our elderly residents.

“The reason Mar gave was due to the damage of the toilets and what they said was absolutely true. But why didn’t they actually look after them? The council gave the toilets to Mar because they wanted them but then they don’t look after them.”

Winsford Cross Shopping Centre manager Stewart Porter was unavailable for comment at the time The Guardian went to press.