TOILETS in Ilkley's Riverside Gardens, dubbed the most vandalised in the whole district, could soon be replaced by a superloo.

Cleansing officers see the £50,000 move - which will probably lead to the demolition of the present toilet block - as one way of solving the repeated attacks on the facility.

It will involve the relocation of a high-tech superloo - which is more resistant to vandal attack - from another area in the district.

The wave of vandalism at the present toilet block - which saw underwater-setting cement poured down the gents toilet - is thought to be motivated by its popularity as a 'cottaging' rendezvous. Last year the Gazette revealed that the block featured on a gay website as a place for men to meet for public sex.

The increasing cost of regularly repairing the toilet block led to fears that it would be shut down altogether, with the knock-on effects on Ilkley's tourist industry.

The superloo suggestion is contained in a document produced by Bradford's cleansing department in a bid to save money across the district. It will go before City Hall's executive committee for a decision in a few weeks. The report also contains grave implications for public toilets at Sugar Hill, off Main Street, Addingham. The building needs a £20,000 upgrade and is also the target of repeated vandal attacks.

The suggestion is to close it down altogether if the damage continues to occur.

District councillor David Harrison (Craven, Con) said of the report: "It is inconveniencing 99.999 per cent of the population because we are at the mercy of idiotic little thugs who can't leave anything alone." But Coun Harrison added that Council Tax payers could not be expected to keep paying for the toilets to be repaired if nothing was done to stop the vandalism.

Bradford's environment chief and Ilkley district and parish councillor, Anne Hawkesworth, said: "I think the toilets in the tourist areas are of prime importance because people may never return if the toilets are bad."

The report also suggests transferring two more Ilkley toilets to other council departments. The toilets at White Wells on Ilkley Moor - a bequest to the old Ilkley Urban District Council from local benefactor Gerald Busby - are suffering drain damage from tree roots and could be transferred from cleansing to the countryside service.

And public toilets at the Swimming Pool building on Denton Road - sometimes used as an overnight 'doss house' by tramps - could be transferred to the responsibility of the recreation department, saving an upgrade costs of £15,000.

The report lists 17 public toilets across the district which could be shut down, saving thousands of pounds in maintenance.

The council says that the savings will be used to improve other toilets, especially in prime tourist locations.