Loo roll thefts prompted public toilet closures
The 'panic buying' phase of the pandemic prompted a shortage of toilet paper. Picture: Chris Bishop - Credit: Archant
The theft of loo roll and liquid soap at the start of the pandemic forced a Norfolk council to close almost half its public toilets, it has been revealed.
North Norfolk District Council’s chief executive, Steve Blatch, took the decision to close 17 of the council’s 39 public toilets on March 19, at a time when it was a challenge to find toilet paper in stock at most supermarkets.
The move was reported a list of delegated decisions made ahead of a council meeting on July 6.
Meeting documents show: “The decision was taken to close 17 of the council’s 39 public conveniences in response to incidences of theft and vandalism over the past week and to allow redirection of cleansing staff to other activities.”
The council decided to close the rest of its public toilets on March 24, as the pandemic unfolded.
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Toilet roll stocks returned to normal levels after several weeks of ‘panic buying’ - a phenomenon which occurred in many parts of the world. However, fears of second spike and rising infection rates in some places including Australia have lead to supermarkets’ loo-roll shelves being once again stripped bare in late June.
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