A long-running saga over the state of public toilets in a coastal village could see a councillor roll up his sleeves to keep them clean.

James Bensly has pledged to be held responsible for organising the cleaning of the Beach Road toilets in Hemsby if Great Yarmouth Borough Council provides running costs and maintenance of them.

It comes as the Hemsby Parish Council said it did not wish to proceed with taking on the cleaning of them as it requires increasing the parishioners of Hemsby's council tax.

But Mr Bensly, a borough councillor who runs a cafe in the village, says that having the loos open in the summer months is "essential" for tourism dependant businesses to thrive.

Great Yarmouth Borough and Norfolk County Councillor James Bensly Great Yarmouth Borough and Norfolk County Councillor James Bensly (Image: Liz Coates) "We are working really hard with GYBC to have a structure in place so we are able to have the public toilets open for longer than last season," he said.

"The parish council no longer want to manage them, nor do GYBC, so I will do my best to manage the cleaning team so this vital facility can stay open.

"An agreement has not yet been struck but we are pushing because the toilets being open, especially in the summer, is essential for businesses here in the village and also for keeping the place clean."

Previously there were issues of people vandalising the toilets and drug misuse taking place.

Problems are said to have worsened from 2016 when GYBC closed the public loos at Hemsby which led to local businesses taking on the management.

Issues occurred this summer when people were urinating up the back of the toilets which were closedIssues occurred this summer when people were urinating up the back of the toilets which were closed (Image: Rupert Lowe) This agreement then ended and the parish council tried to manage it before eventually closing them at the beginning of this summer.

The knock-on effect of the loos being closed saw people urinating up the back of Hemsby Lifeboat Station, the toilets and on the streets.

READ MORE: Hemsby toilet closure leads to urination on lifeboat station

READ MORE: Vandals trash toilets for fifth time since £23k refurb

"When the toilets were closed there was such unpleasantness with beach visitors using the streets as the toilet," Mr Bensly said.

"We want to keep Hemsby tidy, and when the toilets are up and running, I hope people can leave them as they would want to find them because I have seen them in some unspeakably disgusting states.

"It would be wonderful if Hemsby businesses did wish to chip in for costs for the cleaning crew, and a big thank you to Madison's Coffee & Donuts and Lost World Adventure Golf
for their previous contributions."

An example of the state the Hemsby Public Toilets have previously been left inAn example of the state the Hemsby Public Toilets have previously been left in (Image: Submitted)