IT has been the single most highly-charged issue I can remember in 15 years at this newspaper.

Navitus Bay, the Imax and BH2 were all hugely contentious matters, but the closure of public toilets across Poole has got our readers up in arms like nothing else. And who can blame them?

While Borough of Poole’s portfolio holder for environmental services John Rampton seemingly hides behind the excuse of political purdah (which, in this case, he has no right to do), residents and visitors to Poole are left crossing their legs and hoping for the best.

Those that simply cannot hold on have been reduced to relieving themselves up against walls and in people’s gardens. It’s borderline Third World and it has to stop. Borough of Poole must perform a U-turn.

By denying residents and visitors this very basic human right, Borough of Poole shows not only how out of touch it is as an authority but also how little it appears to care – we are talking about the elderly and the disabled here, as well as everyone else in between.

Cllr Rampton’s ill-advised PR own goal of a letter to this newspaper only served to bring the issue to a wider audience – in a twist of irony we thank him for that. But now he and leader Cllr Janet Walton, whose silence continues to deafen, need to wake up from their slumber and give the public what they want.

You got this one badly wrong, Cllrs Walton and Rampton, and we will be piling on the pressure along with our readers. Over to you…