A decision to turn a library's toilet block into a computer suite have raised concerns about the dwindling numbers of public loos.

The toilets at Goring Library, Mulberry Lane, Worthing, will close tomorrow and reopen in the autumn housing the library's computers. In the meantime, users will have to walk half-a-mile to the toilets at Sea Lane Cafe.

Worthing Borough Council has closed eight public toilets this financial year. The closures and restricted opening hours at other toilets have saved about £46,000.

The council is left with 25 public toilets which cost £259,000 a year to clean and maintain.

Gavin Trimmer, who runs the Sea Lane Cafe, pays the council to keep the public toilets open. In a deal to stop NCP taking over the car park beneath the cafe, Mr Trimmer agreed to pay a five-figure sum each year to clean and maintain them.

He said: Soon there will be no public toilets left in Worthing, but we are happy with the figure because it means the car park is free and customers will keep coming.

Richard Chisnell, director of the British Toilets' Association, said: "There is pressure on councils to find a way to satisfy people's toilet needs because they are not going to go away are they?"

He cited Brighton and Hove as a good provider of public toilets. A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: "Loos are important in resorts. After many closures during the Eighties and Nineties of some unwelcoming old loos with serious vandalism problems that cost £1million a year, the trend has been to gradually open more, refurbish some and concentrate resources on providing fewer but much better ones.

"Examples are the pay loos on the seafront between the piers, which are staffed, plus kids' loos at the seafront play area and Peter Pan's Playground on Madeira Drive."

When the Goring Library IT suite opens there will be one toilet for computer users.

Ann Barlow, deputy Tory leader on Worthing council, said: "A review found that we had a lot of toilets. Some of them were sold to make money or savings to reinvest and keep other toilets open."

Nick John cabinet member for the environment said the council had recently had a change of heart. He said he had reopened two toilets on the pier in the past week, because it was "unacceptable that the elderly and disabled did not have access to a toilet".