VANDALS who damaged the gates of two public toilets to avoid a 20p charge have left Lakes Parish Council with a £500 bill.

The council’s clerk, Michael Johnson, said the entrances to the ladies toilets off College Street, in Grasmere, and on the Rydal Road car park, in Ambleside, had both been set upon in the last fortnight.

Destroyed bolts had been replaced at Grasmere, but the damage caused at the Ambleside toilets would cost £500 to fix, said Mr Johnson.

“The workings inside have been damaged and the gate has been smashed, so considerable force has been used to get in,” he said.

MORE TOP STORIES: “We need to install a new panel gate, which will result in a loss of income for about a week, from the time it happened to when we can get it fixed.

“Luckily it is not peak season, so it will not impact too significantly.

"It is more of an irritant, but there is going to be a reduction in what we offer if this stupidity continues.

He added: “We are providing the public toilets for visitors and locals alike.

"We maintain them to a very high standard at a considerable cost.

"It is a finely balanced operation which we are doing very successfully, but it makes me very frustrated and angry that somebody would do this.”

Mr Johnson, who said he has informed Cumbria Police of the vandalism, added that attempts had been made to break gain entry into the cash box.

He described the incidents as "wilful criminal damage", adding: “Perhaps some immature youth was showing off in front of ladies, or it could have been a drunk — we don’t know.

"I am looking into the idea of getting small security cameras which you can install, but there is the issue of sensitivity around toilets.”

He said the damage at Grasmere was discovered by a cleaner, and the Ambleside damage was discovered last Wednesday evening.

In 2011, the council stepped in to save seven public toilets throughout its patch which were at risk of closure by South Lakeland District Council.