As the long-disused toilets at the Cowper Road car park were prepared for demolition by Breckland District Council, reporter Noah Vickers asked Dereham locals and shoppers whether the town needs more public toilets.

%image(14442537, type="article-full", alt="Pat Weinling said she had been forced to use the loos at Morrisons, as she wasn't able to find any public toilets in the town.")

Pat Weinling, 69, who is retired and lives in North Elmham, said: “Yes, there should definitely be more toilets in Dereham."

She added: “I’ve had to use the ones in Morrisons before, because I didn’t know where to find a public toilet.”

%image(14442538, type="article-full", alt="Steve Cocker said decent public toilets were "essential".")

Steve Cocker, 70, who is retired and lives near Attleborough, said of decent public toilets: "They are absolutely essential, for any town."

"These ones were the easiest to find as well," he said, referring to the Cowper Road car park toilets before their closure.

%image(14442539, type="article-full", alt="Pam Madden said the lack of toilets in the town was "pretty desperate".")

Pam Madden, 68 and living in Scarning, said of the provision of public loos in Dereham: "It's pretty desperate”.

Ms Madden manages a shop in the town and added: "We've had people coming in wanting to use our loo, but because of Covid health and safety regulations, we haven't been able to let them."

%image(14442540, type="article-full", alt="Ruth Shinn said the southern part of the town centre would benefit from a public toilet.")

Ruth Shinn, a 53-year-old carer who lives in the town, said of the Cowper Road toilets: "Those ones seemed better to me [than those at Barwell Court]”.

“The town could definitely do with more, especially down towards Wrights Walk,” she added.

%image(14442541, type="article-full", alt="Joanne Baldwin joked that the lack of loos could be "good for businesses" in the town.")

Joanne Baldwin, 80, who lives in the town and is retired, said of the Barwell Court toilets: "Nobody knows where they are."

"I suppose it could be good for business," she jokingly pointed out, as customers buy things to use the facilities.

%image(14442542, type="article-full", alt="Rosalie Sunter said the toilets at Barwell Court were "too gross" to use.")

Rosalie Sunter, a 24-year-old cashier who lives in the town, said of the toilets at Barwell Court: “They're just too gross, I never use them.”

"I don't live far from the centre though," she added, thankfully.