The public toilets in Brampton have been locked by Carlisle City Council after they were vandalised.

The fixtures and fittings in both the male and female toilets were damaged, leaving the council with no choice but to put padlocks on the doors.

The toilets were vandalised between December 21 and 22, but the council wasn’t made aware until December 23, which was when they were closed.

Members of the public noticed the locks being attached to the doors of the toilets but were confused by the lack of notice to say what was going on.

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said: “The public toilets in Brampton are currently out of operation as they were recently vandalised.

“They will remain locked until repairs are undertaken.

“We have notified the police and urge anyone with any information about the vandalism to contact them on 101.”

Brightly coloured with eye-catching designs, the toilets are hard to miss, but the lovely outside reflects a different reality on the inside.

The dirty toilets have been the source of plenty of complaints by the public and parish council alike for a long time.

For at least two years lights haven’t been working, there is no suitable baby changing station, and there have been reports of mould on the hand dryers.

In August, the female toilets were set on fire and in July the cubicles and sinks in the male toilets were vandalised.

David Moorat, chairman of Brampton parish council, said: “Clearly something needs to be done about the constant vandalism in the town – it reflects poorly on our claim that Brampton is a pleasant rural market town popular with visitors.”

There are currently no alternative arrangements for people looking to use the public toilets.

A spokesman for Cumbria police said: “We would urge anyone with information about this incident to contact police referencing incident number 46 of December 24.”