On a recent trip home to York, and during a shopping trip to the city centre, I had the great misfortune to pay a visit to the Parliament Street public conveniences.

I have seen stables kept in a more hygenic state.

All the toilets were blocked, and overflowing with excrement. The resulting overpowering odour could almost be sensed at street level!

The urinal was blocked with cigarette ends and so too was overflowing. There was no soap available for hand washing, and there was also a distinctive lack of hand drying facilities, with the consequence that the area around the wash basins more resembled a skid-pan or a skating rink than a public lavatory.

We currently live in Brussels, where every public toilet, whether in a bar, restaurant or shopping mall is permanently staffed by an attendant, who is paid from the small charge paid by visitors, normally around 20 Francs, which is about 45p.

This results in a facility that is both clean and well stocked.

Perhaps the City Council should consider such a scheme for York's public toilets.

The current state of the Parliament Street toilets can at best be described as a source of shame to the city, and at worst a public health risk!

K. I. Golding,

Rue Edouard Henrard 13,

Auderghem,

Brussels.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.