VILLAGE leaders are worried people will urinate in the street if toilets in Cheddar are shut down.

VILLAGE leaders are worried people will urinate in the street if toilets in Cheddar are shut down.

Police want to demolish the public conveniences in Station Road to stop youths gathering there and create another access into the Kings of Wessex School.

But councillors fear people will use alleyways as toilets and the youths will move across the road to a bench to meet their friends instead.

At a parish council meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Nigel Taylor said: "By determination they are 'public conveniences' and I worry people will urinate in the street.

"I hate the thought of people using back alleys and streets to do that."

Other councillors noted that a lot of elderly residents visit Cheddar to do their shopping and have to use a public toilet rather than wait until they get home.

Views were mixed as to whether shutting the toilets would stop the problem of youths gathering at the toilets and intimidating residents, or just force them to move elsewhere.

Cheddar sergeant Mike Tripp said his team want to crack down on nuisance youths in the village.

Sgt Tripp said: "There was one individual who seemed to appear from no where.

"He came up and taught the children as young as 13 and 14 years old how to steal from cars.

"We found out he was wanted in several areas and he is now in prison in Plymouth.

"We do not want that happening again.

"There are about 20 individuals we deal with on a regular basis and about 10 of those we see almost daily."

Lack of entertainment for youngsters was also blamed for the problem.

Sgt Tripp has met with student members of the school council, who have dubbed the crowd who congregate at the toilets 'the undesirables'.

He added that the village has four other public toilets in Tweentown, Daghole, The Cliffs and Cliff Street.

Councillors voted to hold a public consultation to see whether the toilets should be knocked down.

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