BASINGSTOKE could become the latest town to install urinals that rise from the pavement in a bid to tackle the problem of late-night revellers relieving themselves in shop doorways.

Town traders have been complaining about the constant stream of people using their doorways as toilets for a number of years.

Clean-up operations have to be carried out by shop staff after weekend drinkers are caught short when leaving nearby pubs and clubs. And, they claim, the problem is getting worse.

Now Kaye Cousins, Basingstoke's town centre manager, is looking into whether pop-up urinals - which have helped in a number of towns and cities across the country - are a way to solve these problems.

She said: "Urinals that rise from the pavement are something we are examining as we try to solve the problems traders are having with people using doorways as toilets.

"It has been done in Reading and solved similar issues they had there. We have a lot of investigating to do, as they do not come cheap."

Reading Borough Council installed two urinals at a cost of £17,850 each.

A senior official from the council, who has been involved with the project since it was introduced in April 2002, said: "Before the pop-up toilets, shop owners had to clean their doorways every Saturday morning. Since their introduction, it has got a lot better. I would recommend them to Basingstoke."

The urinals are made by Dutch company Urilift BV. They are constructed of stainless steel, and during the day fit into a hole beneath the pavement.

Once the shops have closed, one press on a remote control sees the urinals rise hydraulically from the ground and revellers in desperate need of the toilet have somewhere to go. Then, when everyone has gone home, the urinals go back down into the pavement.

The toilets are connected to the sewage system, electricity and water mains.

Tom Bateson, director of Connells Estate Agents in Wote Street, said he would welcome measures that help with the problem but believes it should be down to policing. He said cleaning up bodily fluids is a weekly task for his staff.

He said: "When we come in on Saturday mornings, we are guaranteed to find urine and sick in the entrance.

"I have been working here for 10 years and it has always been the same. We do not even think about it any more.

"We know that when we come in on Saturday, we have to pour a bucket of warm, soapy water to get rid of whatever people have left behind on Friday night."

Referring to pop-up loos, he said: "It is one of those ideas that sounds good on paper but will not work. What we need are lots of police making sure people cannot relieve themselves outside and late-night cleaners to get the area clean by the morning."

Borough councillor Stuart Parker, whose Eastrop ward covers the Top of the Town, said that all options should be looked at.

He said: "There can be nothing more upsetting for the manager of a shop than having to clear up vomit, urine and sometimes worse from their doorway.

"I certainly think we need to look at the provision of pop-up urinals. I cannot support it as I do not know how much it would cost, but it should definitely be considered as an option."

Mrs Cousins had hoped to put an end to the problems through the opening of public toilets overnight on weekends, but said this will not be possible due to worries over cleanliness and vandalism.

She will make a presentation to the borough Cabinet on Tuesday, raising the environmental and health concerns she and the traders have. Do you have a view on this issue? Write to The Letters Editor, Gazette Newspapers, Gazette House, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6YD or e-mail editor@basingstoke gazette.co.uk