WEYMOUTH Town Council has been left "extremely disappointed and frustrated" after being forced to close public toilets due to maintenance issues.

The temporary toilet block at the Pavilion forecourt was brought in to provide welcome relief to visiting crowds and residents earlier in the season - but has been out of action since the beginning of July.

This is due to the facility being left without lights, due to a leaking roof causing issues with electrics.

Despite daily calls, the toilet hire company has so far been unable to send a maintenance engineer to resolve the situation due to staff shortages.

But taxpayers will not be forced to 'spend a penny' during the closure - as the council has confirmed it does not expect to be charged for the toilets until the facilities are back up and running again. The authority said it also expects to secure an engineer's visit 'over the coming days.'

A council spokesperson said: "The town council is extremely disappointed and frustrated that the problems with the temporary toilet on the Pavilion forecourt have not been fixed by the hire company.

"We have reported the problem and chased for resolution on a daily basis but the hire company is unable to find engineers to repair the unit. We will not expect to be charged for the period when the unit has been out of operation.

"We expect the hire company’s engineers to visit within the coming days."