Bradford's state-of-the-art super loos are draining the patience of the public and Council - because the doors sometimes will not open or shut.

Officers admit that the luxury public toilets - which cost £40,000 each - have developed embarrassing problems which are proving difficult to solve.

And the latest one to become temperamental, at Forster Square Retail Park, has had to shut until the door is sorted out.

The five wonder-toilets across the district are gleaming stainless steel and self cleaning.

They allow people five minutes to use the toilet before the doors open automatically.

The Council pioneered the first super loos in West Yorkshire about three years ago and the first got a grand official opening.

To make the present problems even worse, Bradford Council says external maintenance engineers "turn up when they feel like it" after faults are reported.

A report to go to Bradford North Area Panel on Thursday says there are also lengthy waits for replacement parts.

A super loo in Queensbury was shut for six months because of the problems.

Now the Council is looking for another company to service its super loos at Esholt, Queensbury, Forster Square Retail Park and Forster Square.

A fifth at the Tyrls is managed and operated by a private company, J C Decaux

Their report on the district's 42 public toilets also puts leafy Ilkley to shame - with one in the town topping the list for incidents of vandalism. The loo in Riverside Walk, now only partly open, has even had concrete put down a lavatory bowl.

But the toilet in the town's Brook Street car park, which has had a £120,000 refurbishment and is supervised, is deemed among the best.

And Bradford comes top of the national public toilet league, providing more per head of population than any other authority.

The Council's executive committee member for the environment Coun Anne Hawkesworth said she was concerned about the problems with the super loos, which were brought in to give a better service to residents and visitors.

She said: "I am also extremely concerned that there are toilets in this condition in a highly marketed area like Ilkley."

Panel chairman Councillor Howard Middleton said: "It does sometimes appear that the more hi-tech you go, the more problems seem to be develop."

The report on the public toilets has been prepared by the Council's internal Best Value team. A Council spokesman said: "The report refers to problems with the super loos, including one at Forster Square, where difficulties with the door mechanism have caused the loo to be closed.

"It also refers to problems with door mechanisms on some of the other super loos where the doors failed to open, or opened then stayed open."