'Shouldn't be open to public': Inside the Glasgow toilets used as drug den over Christmas

Shocking images show discarded needles, burnt tinfoil, empty Buckfast bottles and blood scattered across the facility on St Vincent 
Place.

The council has said that teams will move in to clean the disgusting interior immediately while admitting the space has been “abused” over the festive season.

It appears to have been used as a shelter for people injecting drugs and is littered with waste.

Robert Mooney and his partner were “horrified” after they took their four-year-old daughter to use the toilet during a shopping trip.

The father-of-one now wants to see the unit closed off from members of the public. 

He said: “We were shocked to see it in this state as it was during the daytime. 

“You would expect maintenance to be in first thing in the morning cleaning up or checking the toilets.

“The council clean the streets every morning so you’d expect someone to be sticking their heads in for a look. 

“My partner did a U-turn and took her straight back out. She was absolutely horrified. In every corner, there was either blood, used needles or tin foil.

“I don’t think these toilets should be open to the public when they are clearly a massive health hazard.”

Pictured in June 2020

In June last year, we told how the same facility was branded a “public health disaster” after images showed the space strewn with rubbish – including cider cans, nappies and deodorant cans.

Mooney added: “It’s 20p to get access to them, which means someone is making money out of the toilets. I know 20p isn’t a lot but it shows that someone is clearing money from them from time to time. 

“It looked like a hideout and a complete cesspit. The pictures speak for themselves.”

Mooney also raised concerns over the facility’s “for sharps only” deposit, which he described as “full to the brim with needles”.

Council bosses, however, insisted that it is standard practice for automated toilets in large cities to have sharp deposit units in order to aid safe disposal.

Mooney said: “What concerned me the most is that there’s a deposit for sharp objects in there, which was full to the brim with needles. It literally read ‘for sharps only’. 

“It’s almost as if drug-taking is accepted in these toilets."

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We will send a team to clean this unit as soon as possible. Sadly, it appears the toilet has been abused over the festive period. 

“It is standard practice to house sharps disposal units in automated toilets. 

“This is a public health feature in all major cities with automated toilets. It’s to aid safe disposal. Clearly, this has not happened in this 
instance.”