Ref. 72622-31A MAN using a public toilet in Old Town was confronted by the sight of junkies' syringes and rubbish.

The gents' toilet near the Evening Advertiser offices in Victoria Road has recently been refurbished twice, only to be damaged and turned into a dumping ground once more.

Lorence Seymour-Hayward, 50, a private hire car driver from Shrivenham, was disgusted by the sight that greeted him on his visit.

Swindon Council, which is responsible for the upkeep of the toilets, has organised yet another major clean-up.

But the authority says the responsibility for ensuring public facilities do not fall into disrepair also lies with some of the people who use them. And there is a problem with needles left in public toilets throughout the borough.

Mr Seymour-Hayward said: "I was on a shopping trip to Swindon and came to Old Town.

"I went into the public toilet and the first thing I noticed was a dreadful odour.

"Then, when I was washing my hands, I saw that there were empty beer cans scattered around.

"I also noticed two old chairs, and there was a bare hypodermic syringe lying on one of them.

"There was another bare syringe in a bin nearby.

"I dread to think what might have happened if a child were to have found the needles, or if some irresponsible person had decided to throw them from one of the windows."

Mr Seymour-Hayward said there was a council notice on the wall, advising users that the toilets were regularly inspected and that any problems should be reported to the authority.

However, he added that when he called the number he found himself put through to the accounts department, and repeatedly failed to find anybody who could help him.

It was then that he decided to contact the Evening Advertiser.

Council spokesman Gavin Calthrop said: "We received a call earlier today informing us that there were syringes in Victoria Hill toilets.

"We immediately called in the Clinical Waste Team to dispose of the syringes safely.

"Unfortunately this is an on going problem throughout the public toilets in Swindon at the moment.

"We will investigate the phone number given in the toilets.

"If it is incorrect, we will rectify this immediately."

Mr Calthrop added that, although the council did everything it could to maintain public toilets in good order, there were certain anti-social users who ruined things.

Barrie Hudson