Council hits out at toilet vandalism over festive period

Public toilets in Pembrokeshire experienced a high level of vandalism throughout the Christmas period the council have said.

Several facilities in the County suffered vandalism including Haverfordwest Multi-story, Fishguard West Street, Fishguard Ffordd Yr Efail, Saundersfoot and The Green in Tenby. This resulted in facilities being out-of-use to the public while they were being repaired.

In Haverfordwest the incidents were occurring on a daily basis.

Damage included toilet roll holders being ripped off walls, large toilet rolls stolen from facilities, toilet seats and taps superglued, door closures ripped off, water pipes ripped off walls and of most concern, fires being started repeatedly in the facility in Saundersfoot.

In addition, two new contactless payment machines have also been damaged. The council say that these machines were recently installed in order to make paying to use the facility easier. There will be a significant cost to replace these – and until this work is complete –  the facilities affected will only be available to cash payers.

Incidents have been reported to the police.

Cllr Cris Tomos, Cabinet Member for Environment, Public Protection and Welsh Language, said: “This situation is so disappointing and frustrating.

“Often after a toilet has been vandalised we have to close the facility temporarily to repair the damage, therefore making it unusable for people who genuinely need to use them.

“These selfish acts present a danger to the public and a disruption to the availability of these much needed facilities, especially while maintenance is undertaken. We are grateful to our contractors Danfo for their rapid response in dealing with each issue.  

 “We are asking the public to please respect these facilities. Anyone with information about the damage should please contact the police via 101.”

(Lead image: Pembrokeshire Council)