'Our £1m toilets keep getting wrecked'

A block of public toilets in Evesham have been wrecked in a vandal attack - with a hammer being used to smash the urinals.

Wychavon District Council has hit out at the "mindless vandalism" in its loos in Oat Street, saying the costs will "ultimately fall on taxpayers".

The incident has been reported to West Mercia Police, and the authority said CCTV footage was under review.

Tim Lewis, head of client services, said: "It's just demoralising and disrespectful."

The incident is the latest in a spate of vandalism attacks on toilets across Wychavon, including damage to the toilets in Church Walk in Pershore earlier this month.

The loos in Waterside, in Evesham, have also been targeted multiple times, including in a wrecking spree last year.

Lewis said: "In this latest incident a hammer was clearly taken to the urinals, soap dispensers were ripped off the walls, all manner of vandalism has taken place in there.

"We've heavily invested in our toilets - over a million pounds has been invested in them over the last decade, at a time when many other councils have closed their toilets.

"Then when you see this senseless vandalism, it's just mindless and depressing really."

Lewis said the council would "do everything in its powers" to push for a prosecution if the culprits could be identified.

"We're talking thousands of pounds to repair this because we've got to keep these facilities open, it's not small change," he said.

The BBC spoke to residents in Evesham, who said they were angry about what had happened.

One pensioner, who did not want to be named, said: "They are mindless morons. These toilets are really important."

Another resident said: "Not now, but at one time I suffered with ulcerative colitis - with that disease, when you've got to go the toilet you really do have to go to the toilet there and then. So you need these public conveniences."

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