RESIDENTS in a picturesque Bolton village are demanding that a public toilet block be closed and demolished.

They claim the toilets are being used as a daily meeting place for homosexuals .

They want Bolton Council to bulldoze the toilets at the bus terminus in Barrowbridge.

Residents' spokesman Maurice Howarth said: "The problem has been going on for a long time but it has got a lot worse recently.

"The toilets are hardly used and it seems to us that when they are, they are being used as a meeting place for men to engage in homosexual activity. No one should have to risk being faced with that in a public place."

Residents fear that children going to and from clubs at the nearby Barrowbridge Mission could walk in on gay men in the toilets.

Mr Howarth added: "That's what we are most concerned about -- no child should have to be placed at that risk."

The residents have stressed that they are not orchestrating an anti-gay campaign. Mr Howarth added: "This is not a witch hunt. If heterosexual people were meeting at the toilets for sexual activities, our views would be the same."

Bolton Council has not received any complaints recently about homosexuals using the toilets. A spokesman said: "If we had received any, we would have investigated and acted accordingly."

Police have confirmed that the area has suffered from the problem for a number of years due to the isolated position of the toilets.

Supt Stuart Bailey of Astley Bridge police said: " There have been some problems in the area for a number of years. The police have met with residents and local councillors and the toilets were shut at night.

"The problem was that ramblers complain if the toilets are shut during the day. We had to compromise and they are now shut all night. We are aware that these activities are causing concern and our officers have been informed."

The residents are calling for the toilets to be shut with visitors to the park using other facilities in Moss Bank Park.

Mr Howarth added: "We know ramblers and walkers may need toilet facilities, but there are other ones just five minutes walk away in Moss Bank Park.

The toilet block was built to satisfy the needs of bus drivers, conductors and passengers when the bus route was established.

But residents say that the bus route is now much quieter than in its heyday.

Residents voiced their concerns to the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Bolton West, James Stevens, at a protest meeting at the weekend.

He has pledged to speak to Tory councillors and the police in a bid to get the toilets shut. He said: "The toilets have become a no go area for any self-respecting individual. It is time they were closed for good."