RED-FACED council chiefs have apologised for the "unacceptable" condition of York's most central public toilets.

Dennis Knowles, of Navigation Road, York, contacted The Press following a visit to Parliament Street's Splash Palace'.

The 57-year-old scaffolder said the tourists who were queuing for the toilet at the same time were "appalled" by what they saw.

Mr Knowles took photographs of the appalling condition of the toilets, urinals and basins last Sunday, most of which were not suitable for publication.

Mr Knowles said: "I have never seen or smelled anything so horrendous in my life. You couldn't breathe in there.

"The toilets wouldn't flush, so they were filled up with dirt and completely blocked, and the troughs were all flooded. There were also no towels left, so you couldn't even wash your hands properly afterwards."

"I'm embarrassed for my city. I have travelled all over the world and these are the worst toilets I have ever seen.

"I was speaking to some tourists from New Zealand and they were appalled by the state they were in - they said they had never seen anything like it.

"Tourists spend millions in York and the least we can do is give them decent public toilets.

"They will now go home and tell everyone how disgusting our toilets are."

York tourist bosses have called on City of York Council to address the issue as a matter of urgency.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "This news is very concerning and highlights an issue which we are keen for the city council to address.

"First impressions of a city are very important and most visitors will use these facilities during their stay or when they first arrive in York.

"It is not acceptable for residents or visitors to encounter such problems and we hope that this situation can be resolved."

A spokesman for City of York Council said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Knowles for the condition in which he found the cleanliness of the Parliament Street toilets on Sunday.

"We were not aware of any specific issues on this day and will certainly be discussing this with our service provider.

"It is clear the condition of the toilets had dropped below an acceptable standard of cleanliness and we will be looking into why this happened to ensure there is no repetition."