NEW laws are needed to stop councils in the North-East closing public toilets, say campaigners.

The British Toilet Association (BTA) seized on figures revealing a nine per cent decline in the number of conveniences across the region between 2000 and 2004.

Six local authorities had fewer than six each, the amount below which the exact figure is not recorded in the statistics.

They are Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Derwentside, Durham, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).

In all but Chester-le-Street's case, toilets have closed since 2000. Darlington lost at least three.

In contrast, councils with more facilities included Redcar and Cleveland (14), Wear Valley (14) and Teesdale (10).

The BTA has accused councils of shutting lavatories to save money.

Spokeswoman Catherine Murphy said: "We have been calling for a number of years for the Government to bring in legislation placing councils under an obligation to provide toilets.

"Local authorities are using excuses such as vandalism, anti-social behaviour and general misuse to close toilets.

"It is a serious issue if you are in the middle of a town centre and there is no toilet - and it is particularly serious for people who are elderly, ill or with young children."

Both Darlington and Hartlepool councils said they each had six toilets, with new facilities to be ready in Darlington's revamped South Park by the end of the year.

The Hartlepool council spokesman added: "We do our best to provide public toilets, but unfortunately they are often vandalised."

Authorities have also had to modify many facilities for use by the disabled after the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act.

The BTA's campaign has been backed by 12 MPs, who have signed a parliamentary motion calling for the new duty on local authorities.

Support for the BTA's call was voiced in Richmond, where the men's and women's lavatories in the Market Place were closed to cut district council costs in April.

The town council has since opened up the toilets in the Market Hall to the public - albeit for less hours a day - and has had to take on a new member of staff to clean them.

But town mayor Stuart Parsons said hundreds of complaints are still coming in.

He said: "I support these calls for new laws fully. The only public toilets they should be able to close are those which can't be converted for disabled access."

The ODPM said provision was down to local councils.