PUBLIC toilets across East Lothian have been shut and staff redeployed to help deep clean essential buildings.

East Lothian Council announced the decision to shut its public toilets this morning (Tuesday).

The council operates 30 public toilets across the county, with about eight of them staffed.

It said that staff working in the toilets would now be sent to carry out deep cleans on buildings such as the planned children’s hubs which will open this week to care for key workers’ children.

Meanwhile, Councillor Norman Hampshire, the council’s depute leader, urged people to work with the local authority as it does its best to provide essential services.

He said: “If we are going to deal with the challenges we are all going to face, we all need to work together.

“Every service the council provides to you and your community will be affected.

“The council and every member of our staff will do all we can to help you and our communities get over the impact of the coronavirus and get your community life back to normal as quickly as possible.

“However, to do that we will need your support and understanding as we reduce or in some cases stop non-essential services in order to continue providing essential services to our most vulnerable.

“The council will inevitably be working with fewer staff so please understand that some things will stop and others will take longer than normal to deliver. “