A VISITOR to Longtown has spoken of his disgust at the state of the public disabled toilet.

Ian Lowthian, 84, of Plumpton, near Penrith, was visiting the town with his wife Anne, 83, who can’t walk or talk and is confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke 16 years ago.

The couple regularly take trips and have used a number of disabled toilets across south west Scotland and Cumbria but were shocked by the facilities in Bank Street.

Mr Lowthian said: “It was absolutely disgusting. The poo was caked on to the toilet. It had never been cleaned or anything. I’ve never come across anything as disgusting in my life.”

Mr and Mrs Lowthian are the holders of a RADAR key which gives access to any disabled toilet in the country, most of which are often locked to avoid vandalism and misuse.

He complained to Carlisle City Council but felt dissatisfied with how it was dealt with.

“I read somewhere they can spend £50,000 on the arts but they can’t keep the CCTV cameras going,” added Mr Lowthian.

“It’s maybe not the council’s fault. They’ve been pruned that much of money but surely keeping the toilets clean is essential.”

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said: “The facility is cleaned once a day, seven days a week. We appreciate any feedback and would like to apologise if they were not in a good condition.”

Mr Lowthian used to work at Eden Council and said that the toilets were cleaner at Appleby Fair than the one in Longtown.