SOME people complain about the public toilets in his home city but Brighton travel blogger Graham Askey believes he has seen much worse.
The 58-year-old spent £150,000 and travelled 75,000 miles to find the world’s worst public toilet and says he has finally found it.
He travelled to almost 100 countries around the globe for the most disgusting loos and has now found the “perfect hell hole” - a ramshackle tent with walls that double as shared loo roll.
He said that the 5ft makeshift stall in northern Tajikistan, not far from the border with Afghanistan, was so bad that those desperate enough to use it must stoop over sun-dried poo.
Some sections of the "wall" have been torn off and discarded on the cubicle floor, with a danger of disturbing deadly snakes and rats which have made their homes in nearby rocks.
Graham, a self-confessed “squatter spotter”, said: “After my many travels, I thought I’d seen it all, what with s******s on stilts, sinks seemingly full of wee and bath tubs apparently being used as makeshift bogs.
“But having enjoyed some of the filthiest bathroom facilities to be found anywhere on the planet, the toilet in Tajikistan has to be the worst in the world.
“With no toilet paper available, the builders have conveniently built it with a fabric covering to offer wiping functionality - and it looks like the locals have made full use of it.”
He has included 36 of the “crappiest crappers” he encountered in his new book “Toilets of the Wild Frontier”, which hits the shelves this week.
Other public loos that made his “crap list” include a sink in Bangladesh and a bath containing “litres of number ones and twos” in China, with the plug left in.
The retired builder developed his peculiar fascination for public lavatories, and in particular their poor construction, on his first overseas holiday to Morocco.
He has since visited 91 countries, penning a blog for the fictitious Toilet and Urinal Restoration and Design Society (TURDS).
Whilst meant as a work of satire, it also aims to highlight the health risk posed by sub-standard sanitation.
Graham said: “While readers will undoubtedly find these woeful public toilets hilarious, it must be understood that they represent a significant and largely unnecessary health risk, which can be reduced substantially by supporting charities like ActionAid and World Toilet Day.”
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