Kingussie's public toilets closed for foreseeable future after latest vandalism
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Kingussie's only public toilets have been closed with immediate effect for the foreseeable future after being targeted by vandals yet again last night.
Highland Council has said it has no option but to lock the doors of the facilities at the town's Ardvonie car park because of the repeated mindless behaviour.
In the latest vandalism overnight, the shower was badly damaged, toilet paper was used to set fires and cause flooding and the soap dispensers emptied onto the floor.
The heater and hairdryer were kicked off the wall and chocolate milk smeared everywhere.
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Highland Council officials have said that the Badenoch capital's public toilets are the most vandalised public conveniences in the entire region.
The local authority has said that it can not keep on repairing the damage until the threat of vandalism is gone because of the drain on the council's funds.
Badenoch and Strathspey Highland councillor Bill Lobban (Independent) said: "This is quite simply a disgraceful state of affairs and I hope those responsible are proud of themselves.
"In these extremely difficult financial times we cannot continue to spend the public’s money providing and repairing facilities just to see them being wrecked time and time again.
"I would urge anyone who has information regarding the vandalism to contact Police Scotland or the council."
Fellow local councillor Russell Jones (Independent) commented: "The closure of the Kingussie toilets is hugely disappointing for the community but was inevitable given the on going vandalism problems.
"The Duke of Gordon Hotel has also suffered vandalism over recent weeks and some CCTV footage will be passed to the police.
"The public toilets also have CCTV so hopefully council officials will also pass this to the Police to assist their investigations.
"If anyone has any information about who may be responsible then I would urge them to contact the police."
A spokesperson for Highland Council said: “Our amenities service is deeply disappointed to find that Kingussie’s public convenience has been so seriously vandalised once again.
"We have been left with no choice but to close the facility as a result.
“This type of behaviour is simply unacceptable.
"This vital public services will now be out of action for the foreseeable future and it is sad that the actions of a few will now have a detrimental effect on the community and its visitors.
"The council is also facing significant budget pressures and incidents like this are an unnecessary drain on already stretched finances."
He added: “We have reported the matter to Police Scotland and we urge anyone with information about who may have cause this damage to contact Police Scotland on 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
