A bid to recycle cash from the sale of an old toilet block in Sheringham to revamp other public conveniences in the town looks to have finally failed.

The town council has been pressurising North Norfolk District Council to keep in the town the �104,000 from auctioning the block on the east promenade.

Last month, town councillor Peter Cox said the district had led the town to believe the money would stay in Sheringham and be used for various schemes, including to upgrade the toilets in Lusher's passageway.

Town mayor Doug Smith went further, saying the district council had 'not told the truth'.

However, at Tuesday's town council meeting, a letter was read out from Jill Fisher, coast, localities and assets manager at the district council, which appeared to end the bid.

She said she had reviewed the minutes of the district's cabinet on January 10 2011 and the town council on October 19 2010 and could 'find no reference to any commitment to ring-fence the capital receipt from the sale to Lusher's passage'.

She said: 'At the cabinet meeting, members emphasised that they wanted no link between the disposal and construction of the new toilet block to ensure that, even if sufficient funds were not available from the disposal, the new construction would still be able to proceed.'

She added that it was 'normal procedure' to allocate money to the reserve in order for cabinet to agree a new capital programme each financial year.

After hearing the letter, members decided to not comment and to not pursue that matter any further.

In May, owner the district council sold the block for more than double the �30,000-50,000 pre-auction estimate.

It was bought after a fierce bidding war by Cawston builder Nick Willan as an anniversary gift for wife Sue.