PRESTON council leader, Peter Rankin, has blasted gangs of drug dealers and vandals who have forced the closure of Preston Cemetery's only public toilet.

Bereaved visitors to the cemetery, in Miller Road, Ribbleton, will have to go on two-mile trek if they are caught short when visiting the graveyard after council chiefs admitted they could no longer afford to tackle vandalism.

The toilets, which were well used, have become a haunt for drug dealers in recent months.

And the toilets were flooded when syringes blocked them up.

Council officers, responsible for locking up the toilets at night, have also been threatened by local thugs.

Council leader Peter Rankin, who represents the Ribbleton ward, described the closure as 'a sad state of affairs' but said the council had no choice.

He said: "It is a sad day when people visiting their dearly departed are deprived of facilities because of a small number of inconsiderate people.

"The only alternative is to have someone sitting in the toilets 24 hours a day."

The ladies' half of the block has been closed since the toilet bowls were stolen.

If councillors back the plans submitted to the environment committee at a meeting today (Thursday), the cemetery toilets will become the eighth public convenience to close in two years. Other sites around town have already been closed due to vandalism.

Coun Rankin added: "This cemetery is one of the largest in Europe and unfortunately things do go on there. It is also a short-cut for burglars who dump their stuff there.

"It has now reached the point where there is nothing we can do."

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