TOILETS in Thirsk have been shut amid claims they are being used by gay men as a meeting place.

The men's public toilets at Millgate are now shut on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

A Hambleton District Council spokeswoman said the closure followed complaints about large groups of people meeting there and were imposed after talks between the council and North Yorkshire police.

But the former Mayor of Thirsk, Coun Derek Adamson, speaking at Thirsk Town Council meeting, claimed the closures had come about because the toilets were being used for sex.

He said: "It's queers and their cottaging which is causing the problems in the toilets. This is not acceptable at all in this day and age, and shutting those toilets will only move the problem and not clear it up. Prosecution is the way forward, they should be named and shamed."

Cottaging is the act of having sex in a public toilet or of meeting someone there to do it elsewhere.

Coun Andrew Robinson criticised the closures and their knock-on effect for tourism. He said: "It's unacceptable to close those toilets as they're right next to the bus park. It's coming to the busiest time of year. They should solve the problem and not close them, it will only move the problem elsewhere."

The women's and disabled toilets in Millgate are still open, but the men's will continue to close on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as these are the days the police have identified as problem times.

The council and police are working with Hambleton Community Safety Partnership to resolve the issue. The situation is under review and no date has been set for the toilets to reopen.

They are closed A meeting has yet to be held between the police and Community Safety Partnership.

Christine Fields, partnership co-ordinator, said: "There are a number of issues and we want to make a long-term action plan so we don't have to shut the facility permanently."