BORDERS residents have “failed” their town by refusing to pay thirty pence to use the public toilets, according to a community councillor.

The School Brae loos, currently managed by Peebles Community Trust (PCT), will close at the end of October.

Malcolm Bruce, a member of both the community council and the PCT, said the pilot to keep the toilets open was a “failed experiment”.

Plans to adopt other public facilities in the town have now been dashed, and Mr Bruce says it is down to the public’s attitude towards the experiment.

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“There have been several acts of vandalism on the toilets which PCT had to pick up the tab to repair, and people, apparently, don’t seem to be willing to pay 30p for a pee, which is what we were charging,” said Mr Bruce.

“It’s astonishing that we had Tweed Love on Tweed Green for three days, and there was almost an indiscernible change in the income to the toilets, despite the fact there were 2,000 people a day on Tweed Green. I know they had their own toilets, but you would’ve expected to see something.”

The cost to run these facilities annually is just over £18,000, and the money collected from the charging system funds this.

Mr Bruce continued: “It’s obvious to us because our offices are right across the road and we can see what’s happening, that too many people seem to think it’s acceptable for one person to pay to go to the toilet, and then 20 other people barge in after them, basically tailgating.

“I came out the offices the other day, and a girl was standing with her foot wedged in the door, and she was going to go in afterwards. Two for thirty pence, this week’s special offer!”

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Annoyed by this, Mr Bruce explained to the lady that doing this would result in the toilets being closed permanently.

“She was quite indigent about it,” he said. “We make no bones about it; the public has failed Peebles. The Community Trust, Scottish Borders Council, hasn’t, because we’ve all had a go at running them. The public has failed Peebles by refusing point-blank to accept the fact that if you want to use the public toilet, it costs money.

“It’s a shame because the toilets have never been better presented. The cleaners are doing a fantastic job; they are in there three times a day, often using their own cleaning materials to ensure they are in pristine condition. It’s a great shame.”