Work on rebuilding the block - demolished by a mystery man driving a fork lift truck - began last year.

But in a cost-cutting measure, council architects ordered builders to salvage tiles from the ruins then buy the rest to match.

But the tiles couldn't be bought for love nor money - and the toilets have been closed to a desperate public ever since.

"It baffles me that in public toilets you should be so particular about matching tiles," said Clr Bill Davies, who discovered the reason for the delay. Men, meanwhile, have been nipping into the ladies' loos next door, say residents who live near the toilets.

But on Monday a council spokesman insisted the delay WASN'T just about matching tiles.

"It added to our time scale," she said. "But we were able to get more tiles from another source and the loos should be opening in March."

Progress has also been slow because the council have asked the police to find ways of shaking off the toilets' reputation as a gay rendezvous.

The cubicles have been re-sited either side of the urinals, instead of next to each other, and have been rebuilt in stainless steel.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.