BOLTON Council has told a ladies' bowling club it does not have the cash to clean a park's public toilets.

Members of Haslam Park Ladies' Bowling Club in Kearsley, say they are still reeling after council officials told them if they want the loos smelling sweet anytime soon they should don their Marigolds and do it themselves.

Club secretary Doreen Griffin, aged 76, says the loos are in such a state that some members have been heading into the bushes to spend a penny instead.

The council insist it is the club's responsibility to keep the toilets clean as they are used mostly by its members. They are kept locked at night because of vandalism but the club has a key. But Mrs Griffin says her members most of whom are in their 70s would rather risk being caught short on the green, than tackle the bad smelling toilets.

Mrs Griffin said: "We pay the council £160 a year to use the green and the hut so I can't see why they can't clean the park toilets every so often.

"I think we've all cleaned our fair share of toilets in our time but its unfair to expect the bowling club members to clean a set of public toilets for one thing we're not insured.

"It didn't used to be an issue when we had a working toilet in our hut, but we had to stop using that when the drains started playing up.

"In actual fact the ladies' toilets in the park were only redecorated last year but they have to be kept locked because of vandals, before that they were so bad we had to use the men's.

"But I don't think they've been cleaned since they were redecorated and that was months ago. At the end of the day they're public toilets and it's the council's responsibility to keep them clean."

But a Bolton Council spokesman said: "As these facilities are primarily used by the bowling club they are responsible for the day-to-day cleanliness of the toilets.

"However, if the facilities get to the stage where a deep clean is required then representatives from the club should contact the council."