Better than bog standard facilities for Wickerlsey

A trickle of onlookers saw parish councillor Peter Thirlwall read a poem called Piddling Pete before he relaunched the facilities at The Tanyard after a £30,000 facelift.

And to ensure it was no bog-standard ceremony, a toilet roll was torn instead of a ribbon being cut.

Parish council chairman, Cllr Sue Ellis, even got into the swing of things by wearing a mayoral-style chain fashioned from an old toilet chain.

The toilet block, plagued previously by vandals, has been the subject of restoration by Sanderson Building Services after Wickersley Parish Council took over the lease.

Cllr Thirlwall said he was proud Wickersley was still able to offer free public toilets when much larger places had none.

“During the past decade, councils have closed over 1,000 public toilets and may have outsourced them to private companies, charging up to 50p for a pee,” he said.

“We recognise the need to provide public toilets for parishioners and businesses, which we believe would lose trade without them.

Cllr Ellis agreed it was good value, adding: “There are a lot of people in Wickersley who need to pee.”