A council is flushed with success after its public toilets were deemed far better than bog standard.

Brighton and Hove City Council was given the overall Loo of the Year Award for 2013 following inspections of almost three dozen of its public conveniences.

Nineteen entries were nominated for platinum awards at this year's national awards and 16 entries were nominated for gold.

The council beat well-known names including Asda and Wetherspoons to win the coveted overall award at a ceremony in London earlier this month.

Three of the loos awarded this year were Western Esplanade, Rottingdean Undercliff and Kings Esplanade in Hove.

Pete West, chairman of the council's environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “We are absolutely delighted with these awards.

“Standards have been raised while budgets have been squeezed, so to improve and be judged the best in the UK is a remarkable achievement.

“This is fantastic news, not just for the council, but for all our residents, people who work here and those who visit our city.

“But all credit must go to the dedicated team of staff from Wettons Clean-
ing Services who work so hard to achieve these constant high standards which continue to rise year after year."

A spokesman for Wettons said: “These awards have been the culmina- tion of Wettons teamwork and our partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council.

“We are all very proud of the achievements.”

Loo of the Year Awards managing director, Mike Bone, said: “Brighton and Hove City Council places significant importance on provision of a range of public toilets that meet the needs of all types of users.

“Although not all new, the toilets are cleaned and maintained to a high stan- dard and provide much needed facilities throughout the city, vital to residents and visitors.”

The awards are run every year by the British Toilet Association.

It comes just days after the local authority approved a detailed scrutiny report which looked at how the local authority could continue providing public toilets as the spending squeeze continues.