VILLAGERS in Capel St. Mary were caught short when they were told water to a communal toilet would be cut off.But it was a case of now you see them, now you don't, because there are no public toilets in the village at all.

VILLAGERS in Capel St. Mary were caught short when they were told water to a communal toilet would be cut off.

But it was a case of now you see them, now you don't, because there are no public toilets in the village at all.

Anglian Water sent the missive out of the blue which landed in the hands of the parish council warning about disconnecting the water to the toilet in The Street.

The letter kicked up a bit of a stink and it was decided that the problem needed to be flushed out.

Gerald White, parish council chairman said: "We thought it was hilarious.

"We were curious to find out where the toilets were."

Puzzled parish council clerk, appropriately named Celia Waters, phoned up to find out how to pull the chain on the matter once and for all.

She asked Anglian Water Customer Services where the toilet was but said she was no nearer to finding the answer.

Meanwhile The Star put together a picture to give you the chance to see just what The Street would be like if it offered this facility.

The mystery of the missing toilets was finally solved when the parish council asked Anglian Water to cancel the account.

Because ten days later they received a letter on behalf of The Co-op asking them to reconnect the water supply of the communal toilet at 40 (a) The Street – an address within the shopping area believed to have been recently re-let.

A slightly flushed Mrs Waters apologised for the confusion after the letter fell into their hands because it was taken to mean public toilets.

She said: "I can only apologise for any inconvenience caused by this, but in my defence, if Anglian Water been able to identify the whereabouts of the conveniences, no inconvenience would have occurred."

Assistant General Manager Bill Knowles on behalf of owners Ipswich and Norwich Co-op, was surprised to hear of the mix-up and: "This is a private issue of water supply to a couple of our tenants.

"Nobody has been inconvenienced and I don't know why anything would have got to the parish council."

Weblink: www.angliawater.co.uk