A petition against the closure of public toilets has received hundreds of signatures in 24 hours.

Friends of Eastbourne Seafront, a group which defends the town’s waterside facilities, has launched the campaign following Eastbourne Borough Council’s proposed community toilet scheme, which could see facilities closed.

Gaynor Sedgwick, who started the petition, said: “This petition is to object to the closure of Eastbourne seafront public toilets, and the decision to no longer repair and re-open badly vandalised toilets in Eastbourne.

“Eastbourne Borough Council wants to replace our public toilets with a Community Toilet Scheme to save money.

“This will affect everyone who needs to use a toilet on the seafront, particularly the elderly, those with children, those with medical needs and the disabled.

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“We have a high number of homeless people who need to use the toilets. It is not a statutory duty for the council to provide public toilets but it is an essential service no one can do without.”

Under the council’s proposals, businesses could be asked to allow public access to their toilets, a move which the public gallery described as “shameful” at the most recent cabinet meeting on September 18.

Councillor Stephen Holt, leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, added that toilets vandalised during the consultation period for the scheme would not be reopened.

He said: “It is an incredibly challenging period of time at the moment and we have to make these savings to set a balanced budget.

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“The public toilets will remain open during the consultation, but if they are vandalised we are not going to pay for something which a consultation may close.”

On the scheme, Ms Sedgwick said: “This will not work on the seafront as there are so few businesses with a toilet.

“To leave the seafront with one or no toilet is going to cause distress, limit the activities of people who want to walk and cause sanitary problems along the promenade and on the beach.”

Among the 220 signatures already submitted since the petition was started yesterday, September 23, people have voiced words of support.

One person said: “We need our public toilets to have appropriate facilities for our residents and holiday visitors.”