Public toilets in a Moray village have been closed until further notice after being repeatedly attacked by vandals.
The council shut the facilities in Fochabers last week after the bowls inside were smashed by intruders.
After the damage was repaired at the pavilion on Ordiquish Road the doors were reopened again on Wednesday – only to be vandalised once more within hours.
Now officials have taken the extraordinary step of shutting the facility to stop it from happening again.
Fragments of cracked bowls were found strewn across the ground on Thursday morning after the break-in in the Speyside village.
Yesterday, Moray Council revealed the repair bill would stretch to “hundreds of pounds” at a time when the authority was considering £14million of budget savings.
Last night, Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Shona Morrison condemned the selfish actions of the raiders as “mindless”.
She said: “The grounds there are well used by a lot of groups. It’s really sad to think that some people think it’s fine to go in and just smash them up.
“It’s just mindless stuff – it’s actually unbelievable somebody would go back again after the investment has been made to repair the initial damage.
“It’s a sad state of affairs when the council has to take the drastic action of closing them in order to protect them.”
Mrs Morrison explained that authority staff were now giving consideration to having the public toilets monitored by staff or a community group.
The pavilion and playing field behind Milne’s Primary School is a popular venue for football in the village and is also home to the annual Speyfest music festival.
Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Marc Macrae added: “It’s unfair that locals and visitors to the village will have to bear the brunt of this closure. Vandalism in our communities will not be tolerated.”
A spokeswoman for Moray Council confirmed the vandalism has been reported to the police.
