‘Disgusting and overflowing portable loos are a health hazard’ Subscribe newsletter
A retired health worker has spoken out about her “awful” experience with public toilets near Llanbister which she described as “health hazard”.
Overflowing toilet paper, exposed faeces and no toilet paper or hand hygiene facilities are just some of the issues at the “awful” portable toilets along the A483 at Llananno.
The current public toilets building is closed and the portable facilities are positioned in the car waiting area for those needing to use the facilities while travelling.
Hester Richards from Libanus, who retired from her position as a nurse practitioner last April, said she was last at the “disgusting” site around two weeks ago.
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When asked whether she felt the portable toilets posed a health hazard, the 73-year-old responded “absolutely”.
She said: “That was my first concern. The portable loos were absolutely filthy and there were overflowing with toilet paper and faeces as it didn’t go down into the pan - I tried flushing it but there was no water in the system for it to flush.
“There was no toilet paper. There was a hand sanitiser unit on the wall which was empty so there was no hand washing facilities.”
As well as the blocked lavatories and lack of sanitisation, Ms Richards also reported soiled toilet seats at the temporary amenities which she said clearly had not been emptied.
Ms Richards, who travels a lot as she volunteers with Age Cymru and the Royal National Institute for Dear People (RNID), said she is ashamed of the impression it may give to tourists visiting the area.
There were bins outside which were overflowing with soiled nappies and sanitary products where wild animals had clearly got into because it was strewn around all over the place”.
She said: “I didn’t want to take any photos because I didn’t want to contaminate my phone.
“I spent all summer going up to Libanus wherever I was going and it’s the second toilet stop - the first is in Erwood - and every time it was horrendous. What message it is sending about tourism in Wales?
“It was awful - I could smell it hadn’t been cleaned or sanitised and there were exposed faeces which I could smell.
“I was so ashamed to be Welsh because it’s on a tourist route and it’s the only facility for people to use including mothers with their babies which you can see from the nappies, old people who need to go more and just the general public. “
Ms Richards, whosaid she feels its important to highlight the toilets which she described as “an insult to Welsh tourism”, wanted to raise awareness of the toilets conditions so they might be cleaned up.
After attempting to contact Powys County Council for help, she said she could not get through on the phone and then felt stuck about where to go.
Ms Richards said she experienced better facilities in South Africa while she was there around eight years ago despite the toilet facilities effectively being a hole in the floor.
She said: “I went to South Africa and I did a basic tour. I used the local conveniences because we were at the border between Botswana and Namibia and it was during the border checks and there were toilet facilities and even though they were not Western standards, they were still useable.
“They were a hole in the floor but they were clean and you weren’t afraid of getting dirty while using them.”
Traffic Wales, the Welsh Government’s traffic information service, is responsible for the portable loos as opposed to to Powys County Council as they fall on a trunk road.
The Welsh Government said it is contacting the portable toilets provider to rectify the situation and asked that the public contacts Traffic Wales if further issues arrive with the temporary toilets.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear of the poor and dirty conditions of these facilities and have contacted the service provider to rectify the situation.
“Should further issues arise with the portable loos, users are advised to contact Traffic Wales immediately to ensure the situation is addressed.”
Contact Traffic Wales by emailing [email protected]s or calling it’s information line on 0300 123 1213.
