Dear LPG,

Public conveniences are no longer that convenient and there are so few public ones left that the Coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult than ever for individuals to spend a penny.

Raymond Martin, managing director of the British Toilet Association, the organization that lobbies for better public toilet provision in the United Kingdom, says that the country is now facing a 'national crisis' in access to public toilets.

Recently, I saw a mature man, drop his trousers in broad daylight in the park.  It wasn't a pleasant sight for me, and he had to be desperate to have done this.  He then promptly pulled up his trousers, and walked straight into the crowd, not having the facility to even wash his dirty hands.  That sight provoked me to mention the lack of toilets on Facebook, and I received over 300 people agreeing with me. 

I’m of a certain age where it’s necessary for me to have access to a toilet and I all too often find myself out and needing to go when the nearest public facility is virtually shut or there is a long queue, and the problem is I urgency. On occasion, I've resorted to finding a convenient place like a tree or behind a car to pee.  Even when I visit my autistic brother at the residential home where he lives, I’m not allowed to use the toilet despite having a Covid-19 test.

I've seen mothers having their children pee in public as there are no available toilets.  It's no wonder that lorry drivers no longer want to deliver goods anymore.

The lack of facilities has posed problems for pregnant women, the elderly, the disabled and girls/women whose menstrual cycles sometimes make finding one necessary with little notice.  If we continue at this rate TB will come back at a rapid speed.

On this World Toilet Day, and in the light of a pandemic which has again highlighted the importance of safe sanitation, I live in hope that the government will look at the provision and rethink their present strategy.

Gloria Brown, Camberwell. 

LPG has found some related information… 

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