BLACKPOOL councillors have decided not to spend any more pennies on three of the town's rundown toilets.

Blackpool Borough Council's executive committee decided to permanently shut Claremont, Norbreck and Church Street toilets last Wednesday (January 9), because they were costing too much money.

Coun Fred Jackson, who has special responsibility for the urban environment, said: "We have come to the decision that we can no longer continue throwing good money after bad."

He said the cost of repairing wear and tear and dealing with vandalism was "a drain on council resources".

"We are trying to get rid of the outdated toilets and replace them with modern, clean facilities which the residents and visitors will prefer," he said.

The three toilets are now closed to the public, but replacement toilets are on the way.

"We are hoping the first ones will be in place for the start of the summer season," Coun Jackson added. "But at the moment it hasn't been earmarked exactly where they are going to be."

And he added that Blackpool still has "some very good toilets", such as a block at Winifred Street.

The Claremont toilet caused controversy last summer when it was declared by a Which? report to be the worst public toilet in Britain. The report sparked a closure campaign led by Bispham ward's Coun Henry Mitchell, who said he was "very pleased" at the closures.

But the closures have provoked mixed reactions, particularly among shopkeepers around the Church Street toilets, located off a walkway between Caunce Street and Church Street.

One employee at Peter Bevan's outfitters, Church Street, told The Citizen: "I am pleased. It made a difference when they closed -- I didn't have all the drug dealing and what have you going on in the alley way. It got that I didn't dare look out of the side window because they used to hammer on the window, but it has all stopped now."

Duncan Baines, manager of The Golf Shop, Caunce Street, said: "You did get some dodgy goings on round there. it is just the state of the toilets that concerned me. When they were open they had a cleaner to make sure it was not slippery. Now there is always a slippery mess in the corridor. It's just been neglected."

But the lack of replacement toilets is worrying some Blackpool's residents, including Stephen Caton, of Elizabeth Street, who said: "There's not that many public toilets in town and they are a fair distance from Church Street. People will have to cross their legs and get in a taxi to get home quick."

Shopper John Sharp agreed. "I think for any visitor coming to Blackpool town centre public conveniences should be open as long as they are of a suitable standard."

Town centre Big Issue seller Mick Atkin said: "People can go up to the bus station toilets but they close about four o'clock. I lived in Scarborough before I came here and they shut a lot of their public toilets down there -- I think it's generally a problem in seaside resorts. but if people come here on a day trip where are they going to go to the toilet?"

And he complained that people would never have change for the expected superloos.

"They are probably going to be 20p and people are going to be scratting round for 20p and asking me for change," he said.