COUNCIL bosses have said there is no risk of “plague or a hepatitis epidemic” from closing public toilets in Poole.

The comments were made in response to a question about the closure of the facilities at Baiter Park during a cabinet meeting last week.

Poole resident John Sprackling had asked whether the council considered the potential spread of infectious disease such as Hepatitis A - as a result of people urinating outside the closed toilet block.

But Cllr John Rampton, cabinet member for the environment, said Mr Sprackling’s concerns were completely unfounded.

Speaking at the meeting he said: “In towns around the UK, councils are closing, in some cases, most of their facilities and do not have a community toilet scheme in place. Poole has done much better with its scheme.

“You must be aware that these closures throughout the land have not resulted in plagues, epidemics of hepatitis, cholera, typhoid, diphtheria, e-coli or whatever, and I am at a loss to understand the basis of your concerns, which is seemingly without foundation of any kind.”

The cabinet member for public health, John Challinor, added: “In the instance of the toilet closure at Baiter Park, there is no risk from communicable disease from public urination.”

During the meeting council leader Janet Walton also took the opportunity to defend the authority’s decision to close half of its public toilets in recent years, which she claimed had not been "widely, accurately reported".

She said: "In 2014, a cross-party decision was made in the light of the increasing pressures on council budgets, to reduce the number of public toilets the council provides and to increase the provision through a community toilet scheme.

"Costs of maintenance, cleaning, vandalism and other improper uses of the facilities have all contributed to that decision.

"We are not prepared to accept, as some other local authorities have done, the closure of some of our public toilets without continuing to work on alternative provision through a Community Toilet Scheme.

"This policy is proving successful, with more toilets available to the public than ever before. These numbers continue to increase as our officers’ work with potential providers."

However campaigners, including the Echo, have always said that the community toilet scheme is not a viable alternative for areas such as The Haven, near Sandbanks ferry, and Baiter Park. Two locations where there are not enough businesses nearby.

Last month the council announced the Haven toilets would be reopened over the summer. There are currently no plans to reopen the ones at Baiter Park.