Loos attacked by vandals

VANDALS have caused hundreds of pounds of damage after wrecking two seafront toilet blocks at Old Felixstowe.

The hooligans pulled washbasins off the walls and flooded the loos with around five inches of water at both The Dip, Cliff Road, and at Golf Road on Brackenbury Cliff.

Both blocks, which have been updated recently in expensive refurbishment schemes, are now closed until repairs can be carried out.

Beach hut owners are also counting the cost after vandals attacked their wooden chalets, attempting to break in to more than 20 of them.

Police have urged people using the seafront to report to them as quickly as possible any incidents and also any suspicious activity.

A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal council said the damage to the toilets took place at the weekend.

"The worst of the damage is to the plumbing and we are dealing with this as quickly as we can. We would hope to have the repairs done and the toilets open again by Friday," he said.

One beach hut owner said: "It is disgusting – what on earth sort of people would do that and what sort of pleasure would they get out of it?

"The toilets at The Dip were only refurbished about a year ago with new tiling and a baby changing area and were kept very clean and are well used. People using the huts were very upset."

Felixstowe police commander Insp Andy Bushell said the district council had not yet reported the incidents to the police but officers would investigate as soon as the details were received.

"We have not had too many incidents of criminal damage on the seafront recently but we are very much aware that this is the time of the year – warmer and lighter evenings – when incidents do occur," he said.

"We have stepped up our seafront patrols, and we would ask members of the public who see people acting suspiciously or come across incidents of damage to contact us at once so that we can take action."

Anyone who has any information about the latest incidents is asked to contact Felixstowe police on 01473 613500.