PUBLIC toilets in Bude are set to see restricted opening hours following “repeated incidents of vandalism”.

The change was announced this week by Bude-Stratton Town Council, in response to recent incidents.

Mayor of Bude Cllr Michael Dawe has expressed his disappointment following reported vandalism seen in a town centre toilet.

Sharing images of the incident, he said: “This is what a BSTC (Bude-Stratton Town Council) staff member discovered in the TIC toilets at nearly 9.30pm. I’m told it is happening on an almost weekly basis, it requires both time and money to put right and is very demoralising for our staff who work incredibly hard to keep these facilities open, safe and hygienic for everyone to use.

“It is both unacceptable and unsustainable for this to continue, staff had to come in very early this morning to get these facilities ready for use, if you start finding the toilets closed during what should be open times, this is probably going to be the reason behind it, currently staff are staying late or come in early to correct this but we can’t expect them to continue doing that indefinitely.”

The council has announced that facilities at the Tourist Information Centre, Post Office, Stratton, and Poughill will now close at 6pm instead of 9pm.

A council spokesperson confirmed: “Due to repeated vandalism, the closing time of some public toilets will be adjusted. Effective today, the toilets at the Tourist Information Centre, Post Office, Stratton, and Poughill will close at 6pm instead of 9pm.

“We regret to inform you that most images documenting the vandalism are too offensive to be shared. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.”