Public toilets saved from closure have had to be shut – because people won’t use them properly.

Mirfield Town Council stepped in to keep the toilets open at a cost of around £6,000 a year.

But now the toilets, behind Mirfield Library off Station Road, have had to be temporarily closed.

Councillors say people are not using the toilets properly and are leaving a mess around the bowl and up the walls.

People are said to have been squatting over the toilets and not cleaning up after themselves.

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Signs were put up inside with a diagram urging people not to squat over the bowl but the warnings were not heeded, forcing the town council to close them.

Clr David Pinder, one of the councillors instrumental in keeping the toilets open, said “misuse” and low level vandalism was to blame.

“There has been misuse of the toilets, particularly the ladies’ toilets, by people who want to stand on the toilets to defecate,” he said.

“Toilets are not for standing on and airports don’t tolerate this and neither should we.

Clr David Pinder.

“Our cleaner is saying they don’t want to be wiping excrement off the walls, and why should they?”

Clr Pinder said obscene and abusive graffiti had also meant the toilets had to be repainted three or four times a year.

“The problem with Mirfield is that the library doesn’t have any public toilets and most of the cafes have toilets either upstairs or in the cellar which aren’t accessible for disabled people,” he said.

“Younger people say we don’t need public toilets in Mirfield but if you’ve had bowel cancer, have kidney problems or have young children who need ‘a wee wee now’ you would.”

Mirfield's public toilets closed due to 'vandalism and abuse of service'

The Examiner reported back in 2015 how the toilets had become a meeting place for gay men.

Mirfield Town Council’s Public Toilet Survey is asking what should happen next.

In the introduction Mayor of Mirfield Clr Sean Guy says: “Recently the toilets have been used by a certain few in a “non-traditional” way leading to increased damage and unacceptable mess; this in addition to other alleged activities, means that there has been a significant increased cost in their maintenance.”

People are asked whether access should be available via a code from a local shop; whether CCTV should be installed outside; if a full-time attendant should be employed at a cost of £21,000; if the toilets should only open for special events; or if they should close completely.