Calls to improve a “filthy” public toilet in Deal have been made after a mother refused to let her child use it.

The parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, took their seven-year-old daughter there last Saturday afternoon but discovered it didn’t have a single toilet roll.

She said there were empty cans of lager lying on the floor, a broken light fitting and a baby changing table was covered in grime.

One previous visitor even scrawled “Would you put a baby on here? I wouldn’t. It’s disgusting.”

Instead they used a toilet in a nearby shop before reporting their disgust with ward councillor Ann Napier (Lab).

Cllr Napier said: “They were so disturbed they contacted me about them."

She’s working with Cllrs Bill Gardner and Mike Eddy for improvements.

“As a parent of four children I know how important it is to find a clean and hygienic place to change them. You’re worried in case they catch something.

“For someone to write a message like this on the table really says something about how the council needs to get them brought up to standard quickly.”

Cllr Eddy said: “It really isn’t acceptable for DDC to run toilets in this condition. We don’t want to put people off coming back to Deal or going home with bad things to say about our district. The council shouldn’t expect praise for keeping the toilets clean, it should always be done as a minimum. But they should expect flak if they’re not clean.”

A DDC Spokesman said: “We are aware of concerns and we are looking into this matter. The toilets are cleaned and checked by contractors twice a day, including restocking toilet rolls where required. We carried out an additional inspection on Monday, and have replaced a broken bolt and made arrangements for a broken light fitting to be fixed. We continue to monitor conditions at this location.”

Letter writer Andy Maple called for Deal Town Council to form a working group – with brooms and mops to tackle the problem head on.