Spending a penny will cost 20 times that for people caught short while shopping.

Brighton's busiest public toilets at the bottom of West Street are getting a £100,000 refurbishment.

The deluxe service will come at a price - each trip to the loo will cost 20p, although disabled people can go for free using their special keys.

The money will go towards a permanent attendant to deter crime and vandalism as well as the cost of the refit.

The toilets are to be redecorated and fitted with baby-changing facilities and vandal-proof bowls, basins and urinals. These will be made of a synthetic material that is difficult to smash.

Andy Durr, Brighton and Hove City Council's outgoing chairman of the culture committee, believes most city residents and tourists are prepared to pay for the privilege of having well looked after loos.

He said: "The 20p charge is the only way to provide that level of service and international visitors are certainly used to paying for decent, attended loos.

"It will also deter drug taking and dealing."

The state of Brighton's toilets has been a contentious issue for some time. The council maintains about 50 public toilets and superloos within its boundaries.

Earlier this year, influential architect Lord Rogers attacked the state of the toilets at Brighton station.

The man who designed the Millennium Dome and the Pompidou Centre in Paris branded the gents' as "absolutely disgusting" and penned a letter of complaint to council leader Ken Bodfish.

Under the leadership of Lord Bassam, the council policy was to sell off some of the lesser-used public toilet buildings, which have since been converted into florists, coffee houses and other shops.

Selma Montford, secretary of the Brighton Society, welcomed the refurbishment of the West Street loos but wants the council to reverse the trend of closure.

She said: "I think the 20p charge is quite a lot but we have lost a lot of toilets and this is a step in the right direction. Having an attendant is a very good idea.

"But it is still pretty difficult if you are an elderly person or someone with children around the city and I would like to see the council build some more toilets."

Work on the West Street toilets is expected to be completed in July and temporary facilities have been installed nearby.