Public toilets at Seaton Carew have had to be closed after the door entry systems were badly damaged by vandals.
It appears that a hammer was used to smash the card reader units on each of the cubicle doors at the block, adjacent to the Sandy Car Park.
The damage was discovered at the weekend by security, and it is believed to have occurred overnight on Friday (27 February).
The vandals were unable to gain entry to the actual toilets which, fortunately, were undamaged.It is expected that the damaged card reading units will now have to be removed and repaired off-site before being re-installed. This is likely to take several weeks and the toilets will not be operational during this time, as if left unlocked they would be vulnerable to further vandalism.
The toilets at Seaton Carew
Councillor Owen Riddle, Chair of the Council’s Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services Committee, said: “The toilets are a cashless facility so there is no money on site. I can’t believe that people would stoop so low as to damage valuable public facilities in such a mindless way.
“I would ask anyone who witnessed the vandalism or who noticed anyone acting suspiciously in the area on Friday night/Saturday morning to contact Cleveland Police on 101.
“We will strive to get repairs carried out as quickly as possible, but it is inevitable that the toilets will be closed for a period of time.”
The toilet block was opened by Hartlepool Borough Council in 2024 as a replacement for outdated facilities at the nearby Clock Tower.
The single-storey pitched-roof toilet block comprises single cubicle unisex facilities. There are nine standard cubicles, two accessible cubicles and a Changing Places unit that caters for people with significant disabilities. This unit which is accessed using a Radar key and not a card reader, remains open.