THE leaders of a riverside town have got their knickers in a twist about a new "superloo" set to replace its old public conveniences.

Stourport-on-Severn Mayor, Mr Michael Grinnall and fellow town councillors are unhappy that Wyre Forest District Council has opted to install a new chargeable "superloo", despite appeals to simply refurbish the old conveniences in Bridge Street.

The district council has boarded up the Bridge Street site after recent vandalism and claims that refurbishing is too pricey at £50,000 plus further maintenance, while installation of the superloo will cost £39,000 and charge for use will cover maintenance costs.

Mr Grinnell is refuting the figures quoted. "I don't know where the district council pulls these figures from, but I could get quotes for a fraction of the cost. I've done it before," he said.

"It's bad enough the Bridge Street loos are closed down, but all people want is a good old-fashioned public convenience. These Tardis-like 'superloos' are too confusing for people and they aren't comfortable with them.

"They're saying it's too expensive to refurbish and that there are vandalism problems, but vandalism is a national problem for the police to deal with.

"We don't mind if they close the loos at 6pm in winter and 8pm in summer to avoid late-night problems. Pubs have their own facilities. We just want a decent public loo!"

The district council says that ''superloos'' in other areas are successful and they want to offer a 24-hour facility in a more visible area to thwart vandals.

"I haven't seen any research that these 'superloos' are unpopular," said Andrew Dickens, head of cultural leisure and commercial services at Wyre Forest.

"We want to provide facilities, and these are stainless steel and designed to discourage vandals. We haven't experienced difficulties with them in other areas."

But Mr Grinnell insists the town is not ready for the superloo.

"The general public aren't happy about this situation and, at the end of the day, I don't care what it costs. We just want things in our town to be right for our town," he said.