LOCKED up loos have prompted desperate walkers to begin using a rural school playground as an open-air toilet, residents have claimed.

Traders and councillors keen to see public toilets reopened in Grasmere's Stock Lane spoke out at Lakes Parish Council this week amid concerns for children's health, reports Beth Broomby.

Grasmere resident and trader Steven Bell said he and many other locals had seen people using the school field as a toilet and urinating up against the school wall. And on New Year's Day he said there was human excrement left on the doorstep of the closed conveniences.

Coun George Middleton said he too had witnessed people using the school as a toilet at weekends.

Mr Bell, father of a four-year-old boy, said he feared his or any other child could easily come into contact with disease-causing bacteria, viruses and parasites carried in human waste.

"I would like to send my child to Grasmere school but I have major concerns that if I send him there and the toilets are still closed the chances are he will come into contact with human poo at some point.

"People come to Grasmere expecting to be able to use the loos. When they find they are closed the obvious thing to do is nip over the wall into the school. It is horrible."

Gift shop owner Mr Bell said: "The Victorians sorted out sewage because of health reasons and look at us now. What we are looking for is leadership and action now we want those toilets open before Easter."

As previously reported South Lakeland District Council reluctantly opted to shut 13 toilets as part of a drive to tackle a £1.2 million budget shortfall. Stock Lane car park toilets along with five others have been mothballed meaning they could be reopened if someone is found to take them over.

SLDC Contract Services manager Chris Fiddler said the toilets would normally be closed over winter until March but this year they would not reopen unless someone else came forward to take them on.

Staff at Grasmere CE primary School, which re-opened after the Christmas break yesterday (Thursday), said they had not seen walkers using the school as a public convenience but said they would be very concerned if it did prove to be the case.

School secretary Fran Murray said: "Obviously it would be of concern to us as the children play all around the field."

Coun Vivienne Rees said it was crucial to keep coach loads of visitors coming to the Lakeland village each year.

"The Stock Lane toilets are important for the economy of Grasmere," she said.

Coun Elizabeth Braithwaite called for action and said: "We have got to stop this gramophone record because we are going round and round without making any progress."

Lakes Parish Council resolved to call a meeting with representatives from SLDC, The Lake District National Park Authority, Grasmere Traders and Grasmere Sports Association.

January 10, 2003 09:00