ORPINGTON toilets have been described as a ‘disgrace’ by a disgusted resident.

Sylvia Rowan, of Red Cedars Road, used the facilities near the Walnuts Shopping Centre off the High Street earlier this month and was appalled by what she found while a councillor blames the 'animalistic behaviour of a sad minority'.

Mrs Rowan spoke to other concerned visitors, one of whom said she could "smell E.coli".

The 76-year-old said:  "The only free toilet, which isn’t in a cafe, restaurant or bar is in a disgusting state, both in repair, cleanliness and hygiene. The smell was awful.

"One toilet was completely blocked (no note on the door) with floating matter on show. The men’s toilet is just as bad.

"I bumped into a lady there who said she was an environmentalist and she could smell E.coli.

"Being right next to a food establishment (Sainsbury’s) and a new library in the Walnuts Shopping Centre, this is a disgrace.

"They both need deep cleansing and generic renovation or closing down altogether in my opinion."

She is worried about how the state of the toilets affect the area.

She said: "I’ve lived in Orpington for eight years and I live it.

"We’ve had a new High Street fix, a new library building and we’re having a new cinema. On the whole, most shops are open and doing a good job."

News Shopper: Orpington resident appalled by 'disgrace' of town centre toilets

Website Fixmystreet.com, where residents can report problems, also revealed concerned comments about the facilities.

One anonymous commentator posted on August 17: "I went in the women's toilets with my children and they were flooded with faeces on the seats and up the walls.

"Surely this is a health hazard, disgusting Bromley Council."

Portfolio holder for environment Councillor Colin Smith said: "Despite the huge cuts to the council’s budgets these toilets are still cleaned four times a day which if anything, represents an increase in recent times rather than a reduction.

"Whilst the animalistic behaviour of a sad minority will unfortunately continue to cause problems at the site from time to time, in an effort to further improve upon the cleanliness of the conveniences, we are currently discussing the idea with the Orpington 1st BID board, the recently formed business-led town centre improvement group, they could manage these conveniences in the future.

"A Community Toilet network is another potential option should that fail."