Shirley Sainsbury's launches second attempt to close toilets after anti-social behaviour incidents

Sainsbury's has lodged an appeal after the city council rejected its application to remove the toilets at its branch in Redcar Street, Shirley.

The company says the facilities should be closed to ensure the safety of staff and customers after 74 incidents in one 12-month period alone.

Its original application was thrown out in October last year after sparking 30 letters of objection.

The Shirley branch of Sainsbury's.

One of the protesters said: "As a mother of young children there is absolutely no way I can consider visiting Shirley without access to a public toilet."

Another claimed: "Sainsbury's need to sub-contract the cleaning and security of the toilets if they are unable to manage it themselves."

The application cited a "significant increase" in anti-social behaviour, adding: "Colleagues can no longer manage the facility safely and without fear of abusive behaviour and danger."

But the council said the toilets replaced public conveniences that were demolished to make way for the supermarket, which was built nearly 20 years ago.

Now, Sainsbury's has lodged an appeal against the authority's decision.

The Shirley branch of Sainsbury's.

A report outlining the grounds of the appeal says: "In the absence of sufficiently available law-enforcement support, the store has had to take the regrettable decision to seek to permanently close the toilets to protect the public and the safety of its own colleagues.

"Although the store’s management has tried to manage the abuse, it has reached a level whereby this is no longer feasible.

"The presence of the toilets has safety implications for staff and members of the public due to the nature of the vandalism and anti-social behaviour taking place within them.

"Sainsbury’s have been in liaison with the police over the past 18 months about this issue.

"However, there is very little the police can do without evidence and it is almost impossible to obtain evidence without constant monitoring of the toilets."

The report says CCTV is not an option, adding: "The store does not have the resources to monitor the toilets throughout the day.

"Over the past 12 months there have been 74 incidents associated with the toilets, which averages out at more than one a week."

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