WHY is it in an age when rocket scientists can put satellite telescopes into space, biologists can make exact replicas of grown animals in a test tube and British athletes can actually come back from the Olympic Games with medals instead of tacky souvenirs and bruised egos, Ilkley's public toilet farce remains an incurable problem?

Even if the town was not on the tourist map it would be a tragedy, but as long as we continue to expect visitors to enjoy a stay in Ilkley, the situation remains a disgrace.

Granted there are problems which do seem to be out of the ordinary to say the least. Not many local authorities are faced with such a determined vandal as the one attacking the toilets in the Riverside Gardens at the moment.

Actually taking the trouble to nip down to the DIY store to buy a bag of underwater setting cement and a hacksaw before paying a visit to the local public loo shows as much determination as malice. Let us hope the culprit is caught sooner rather than later - if only to let the rest of us discover the answer to that most perplexing question - "Why?"

And as far as the madness over the White Wells toilets and the central car toilets is concerned, we all know who is responsible for this twin absurdity.

Sooner or later the local authority will have to admit that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon may only have taken three or four weeks longer to complete than the refurbishment of the central car park toilets.

At least they are on course for opening. We are not so fortunate with White Wells and Riverside Gardens. A double closure seems not only possible but probable, and we will have to keep our fingers, if not our knees, crossed to see what the future brings.