THE arson-hit and vandalised public toilets in Wellington have opened up a ‘can of worms’ for the town council.

Members of Wellington Town Council were told at their latest meeting that the recent incident at the toilets in Longforth Road had revealed a catalogue of problems.

Town clerk Kathryn Hemensley, who has been with the council since October last year, said it had been a ‘baptism of fire’ since the arson attack on June 16 at the toilets.

“It really has opened up a can of worms because it has led to investigations and visits, and there are a lot of problems with the toilets,” she said. “They are a big ticket item as they cost us around £20,000 a year to keep them open.

“It wasn’t until the fire that we discovered that only one of the five cubicles was actually working.”

It would appear that the toilets have fallen into a poor state of repair as previous problems had been reported by ID Verde direct to Taunton Deane Borough Council which would then notify the town council, but since the creation of West Somerset and Taunton Council that communication has broken down.

Ms Hemensley, in a report, said: “As part of the inspection on June 17 it was identified that the toilets generally are barely usable.

“Only one of the five cubicles is in service due to faulty locks or lighting. Additionally, very few of the electrically-operated functions such as hand wash, water and drier are in working order.

“The automatic locking system needs repair until which time the toilets – if working – would need to be manually locked each night and opened each morning.”

It is understood that the culprits allegedly stole starter wood from the nearby garage and then set fire to it at the toilets.

“Fortunately nobody was harmed but there was significant smoke damage to the cubicle in question,” said Ms Hemensley.

But she told councillors last week that it ‘doesn’t bear thinking about’ had the locking device been working properly and malfunctioned, and the culprits had been trapped inside the cubicle after starting the fire.

Councillors believe the future management of the toilets needs to be looked at by a specific committee – especially now in the aftermath of the arson attack which has unveiled a host of problems.

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “They have been neglected for a long time and that sort of facility deteriorates very quickly if they are not looked after.

“They are an asset for the community but they cost a lot of money to run.”

Cllr Nancy Powell-Brace added: “It should be said that the toilets haven’t always been in that bad condition. But this now would give the council an opportunity to be visible and proactive in actually doing something. People often ask what the council is doing as they don’t see the council doing anything.”

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky said it was important that the Longforth Road toilets and those at North Street, which are not within the town council’s authority, were ‘up to scratch’.

But Cllr Marcus Barr said: “I would like to close the toilets at Longforth Road. We need to look at this as a business. Some people say these toilets are an asset but I would call them a liability.

“If we want to keep them open – we need to put up the Council Tax to cover the costs. Also, why are we still paying for them to be cleaned if the toilets are closed and not working?”

But Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “We have a duty of care for the community. Some people don’t go into town if there aren’t public toilets.”

Police are still investigating the arson attack and CCTV footage has identified two possible suspects. An appeal has been issued for further information – please call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.