CITY centre revellers will be able to spend a posher penny when a block of public toilets receives an upgrade.

The toilets in Worcester's Cornmarket are to undergo a £127,000 upgrade before they are made 24-hour.

Worcester City Council said it was being done in response to the booming night-life in the Faithful City, which means more people want public loos open around the clock.

The Cornmarket toilets currently open at 7.15am and close at 8pm. Once the work is complete there will be four unisex toilets on the site, as well as a baby changing facility.

The developers have been instructed to provide a stainless steel finish to the toilets, as well as an auto floor wash' facility to keep the floor clean.

The toilets will close in the new year for the upgrade and re-open to the public in March. City council leader Coun Simon Geraghty said: "We are very keen to carry on with the refurbishment project with toilets that we set out on earlier in the year, and want to continue with the work. It is particularly important we do this because of the night-time economy in Worcester."

The council wants to recoup some of that investment by charging for use of the toilets, like the units at Angel Place that charge 20p.

Angel Place toilets were re-opened in May after a £138,000 upgrade which allows them to open 24 hours a day.

Coun Sam Arnold, a Labour councillor, has called for charges to be dropped in the past. In July the Worcester News revealed that the Cornmarket toilets was one of three public conveniences in the city being used for gay sex sessions.

At the time, the city council vowed to crack down on the problem and said refurbishment should discourage it.

l The council has also announced a £106,000 upgrade of the toilets in Croft Road to make them 24 hours too. The work will take place next autumn.