Borth Community Council has agreed to take over one of their toilet blocks after Ceredigion threatened to pull the plug.

Borth Council decided to “uphold human dignity” and “maintain the village’s blue flag status” by keeping one of the two toilet blocks open.

After a busy public meeting on 20 January, the council resolved to run the RNLI public toilets to the south of the village “as long as Ceredigion continue to run the other set near the station”.

However to do this they will need to raise the council tax by 15p for some residents.

Announcing the decision, Borth Council spokesperson said: “The turnout [to the public meeting on 20 Jan] was good and it really helped our councillors understand the village's perspective on the necessity of keeping both sets of public toilets.

“We carefully considered the financial implications in light of the current economic climate...

“Taking over both sets of toilets may have felt like a steep increase in precept for the residents.

“We appreciate your understanding of the need for this slight increase to continue providing this essential service to our community.”

The decision will cause band D residents to pay an annual council tax increase of £1.83, equating to 15p monthly.

This comes in the backdrop of Ceredigion County Council trying to lose responsibility for the county's toilets by offering community councils to take them over, after finding a £200,000 deficit between the cost of running the toilets and what they earned.

Commenting on the proposals, one resident described it as “absurd for a popular tourist destination to be expected to have no public toilets, surely there is a responsibility by law somewhere?”

Another said it “beggars belief how Ceredigion can announce they can’t afford to run the toilets but have no clue when asked for the cost breakdown”.