Angry stall holders want attendant

DESPERATE stall holders in a Kidderminster shopping centre say they are being driven round the bend by the disgusting state of public toilets in Vicar Street.

The traders in the Rowland Hill Centre say, because the centre does not have its own loos, they have no choice but to use the toilets sited nearby and maintained by Wyre Forest District Council.

They said the state of the loos, allegedly often swimming in urine, however, meant they would rather cross their legs until they got home than venture into the "stinking" WCs.

They added the "smelly, dirty" conveniences, based in Vicar Street between the escalators taking shoppers up into the Rowland Hill Centre, did not give a good impression to visitors to the town.

Wyn Collier, of Almond Avenue, Kidderminster, who runs a gift stall at the top of the escalators in the centre, said: "I only use them if I am desperate. You sometimes have to hold up your trouser legs to stop them getting soaked by urine and it is not unusual to find excrement on the floor or smeared up the wall."

She said the state of them varied from "bad to very bad" but, at best, there was a constant smell of urine.

"They are never really clean," said Mrs Collier.

Another stall holder, who did not want to be named, said she had even resorted to not drinking during the day to avoid having to make a trip to the loo.

Victoria Carney, of Stourport Road, Kidderminster, who works on the shoe repair stall, said: "I had to take my little boy in there recently and they just stink. The sanitary bins are actually outside the cubicles so people just throw tampons and sanitary towels down on the floor inside."

Youngsters were to blame for the mess, the stall holders said, with the problem worse when they were off school during the holidays and on Saturdays."

They are calling for a full-time attendant to run the toilets.

A statement from the centre's managing agents, Jones Lang La Salle, said: "The toilets are owned and maintained by Wyre Forest District Council. The condition and upkeep of the toilets is therefore the responsibility of the council."

At the time of going to press, the district council were unavailable for comment.