VANDALS who have struck at a Powys town’s public toilets a little over 24 hours after a £10,000 investment in them have been likened to “flies attracted to a fresh cow pat”.

Builth Wells Town Council announced on Monday, April 29, that the town’s public toilets in The Groe had returned to being open from 7am to 7pm, having also had new automatic doors fitted, at a cost of £10,000.

The town council had urged locals to treat the toilets with respect, having been hit on numerous occasions in recent years by vandals.

However, on Wednesday morning, mayor Mark Hammond revealed the toilets had yet again been vandalised.

“Town Council are happy to announce that after a long wait, our new automatic doors are being fitted today, which means that the toilets will be open from 7am-7pm,” read a post on the council’s Facebook page on Monday morning.

“We hope that this will make life easier for the local residents and visitors. Please treat these toilets with respect. Our cleaners work hard to keep them in such an excellent condition.”

Pictures of the damage, including a whole toilet roll being thrown into one toilet bowl, then appeared just after 8am on Wednesday.

“First night of staying open until 7pm,” read a post. “If our toilets are to remain operational then please treat them with respect.”

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Councillor Hammond added: “First day opening later than 3pm (and after a £10k investment in new doors), moronic idiots have been attracted back like flies to a fresh cow pat.

“There can be no sensible person who can consider this acceptable or excusable.

“The money we use to keep it open is from the proportion of money that the town council receives from YOUR community charge. It currently costs the council nearly £40,000 a year to do so.”

One commenter called the vandalism “a disgrace”. Another suggested the town council should close the toilets, which are located at The Groe, Builth’s bustling epicentre where there is a busy car park and is a popular spot with walkers, or charge people £1 to get in.

Vandalism at public toilets, particularly The Groe ones, has been an issue that has dogged the town council in recent years.

In October last year they experimented by closing the toilets each day from 3pm for a month, in the hopes of combatting the issue.

The council has previously reported that the toilets are regularly trashed and that the custodian cleaning them has been targeted by local youths.

Damage and other issues have been an issue for more than two years. Complaints have previously been made about youths taking drugs and intimidating people using the toilets.