THE fight against vandals is being stepped up in one Herefordshire town, with vandal-resistant toilets on the cards.

Bromyard has been without a set of public toilets for months now, after its only block closed last year.

The toilets, which have also been hit by vandals in recent times, were closed for repairs due to issues including the drainage, with portable toilets sited next to them for visitors to use, a report submitted to Bromyard Town Council's properties committee in November said. 

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Bromyard councillors heard that the first, and major, issue was the drains directly underneath the toilets, but the second issue was a blockage in the drains running under the town's leisure centre, behind the toilet block.

The blockage was found to be a large piece of material and a roof tile which had lodged in the drain system.

The report did not speculate as to how a roof tile had found its way into the sewer, but it is far from the only suspicious or troublesome incident to have hit the toilets. 

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Last September council minutes revealed that the block had suffered an act of arson which was caught on CCTV, while in 2020 the council was forced to temporarily close the loos after the electronic components that control the door locks were "ripped out", and damage to guttering and handrails was reported in 2022.

But now there are plans to renew the toilets, which have been temporarily replaced by Poortaloos. 

The council has recently accepted a quotation from IJW Design and Consulting at a cost of £1,150 for architectural services for the renewal of the toilets. 

And recently published minutes from the town council's April meeting said that advice has been sought about vandal-resistant designs for the new public toilets.