Closure of public toilets was result of mistake by cleaner

An '˜unfortunate error' was responsible for the daytime closure of the public toilets in Seahouses, which sparked a complaint from a tourist.
The public toilets in Seahouses.The public toilets in Seahouses.
The public toilets in Seahouses.

The issue was flagged up to the Gazette by John Pike, from Devon, who visited Northumberland last month.

He visited Bamburgh Castle on Friday, September 9, before stopping in Seahouses to use the public toilets.

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Mr Pike says that the men’s toilets were closed and that there was no notice or sign to explain why they were out of use or any alternative places to go.

Having asked in the nearby tourist information centre, he was given the key for the disabled toilet, which saw a queue build up with the key passed along to different people.

Mr Pike highlighted that if you want to attract visitors, then you need to provide proper facilities for them.

However, it was just a simple mistake, according to a county-council spokeswoman, who said: “This was an unfortunate error where the cleaner had left the door locked for a short period to allow the floor to dry after cleaning. He then mistakenly forgot to open it again until he returned later.”