WALKING through Taylor Park the other morning I came upon a man cleaning the toilets. Given that these facilities have been locked up for some months, I asked whether they were now to be put back into use.

The response was negative; the man advising that he cleans them regularly, and then locks them up again!

Next I inquired at the Park Rangers office. The gentleman on duty was polite but equally negative as to why there are no current toilet facilities in the town's most prestigious park, some lame excuse about vandalism being the only explanation offered.

Being midway through school summer holidays, and given that the park was very busy with many parents and children, how do our illustrious Town Hall Mandarins expect people to manage? Are we all, young and not so young, expected to sneak into bushes as and when necessity requires?

We have all been subjected recently to wonderful notions regarding the planned revival of our once-great town parks. Might I suggest that our officials dispense with high profile gestures and just reinstate the basics? Namely, adequate maintenance, supervision and toilet facilities, during daylight hours.

Such basic amenities would do much to regenerate interest in our local parks and would represent tax payers' money well spent, in contrast to the vast sums wasted each year on unwarranted gestures (notable examples being the annual self-congratulatory glossy brochure and the 'well-past-its-sell-by' St Helens Show).

A Disgusted Council Tax Payer (name and address supplied)