Brighton used to be full of public toilets. There were more than 100 of them making it hard for anyone in the resort ever to be caught short.

On the seafront where the biggest crowds congregated, there was a lavatory every few yards.

Not any more. One of the biggest complaints from both residents and tourists has been a lack of loos.

Many on the seafront have closed and there is a remarkable lack of them in the main central shopping area of the city.

Public loos that do exist tend to be tucked away, such as those off the Pavilion Gardens or the Lanes car park. In Churchill Square they are not easy to discover.

Those in the railway station have long been a public disgrace and many stores are reluctant to let their lavatories be used by the general public.

Politicians of all parties have said something should be done about it, ranging from council leader Ken Bodfish to David Gold, who contested Pavilion for the Conservatives at the last general election.

But when the council is cash strapped, building new loos at public expense tends not to be a high priority.

Many of the loos which have been closed were not much of a loss. Some such as those below the Clock Tower were down inconvenient stairs, totally inaccessible by disabled people.

Others, often connected to pubs, stank worst than the most unhygienic French latrine. There were many you would not wish to enter except in the direst emergency.

It is also hard for the council to keep small, unstaffed lavatories operating for many reasons. Vandals often delight in smashing them up at regular intervals.

Far too many lavatories are used for homosexual acts, which should be confined to the privacy of people's homes.

Few heterosexual males feel comfortable with the permanently occupied stall for pick ups in the corner, especially if they are sending their children in there, although there is little if any evidence of unwanted contact.

There is also a lot of drug taking in loos, especially those in the city centre and apart from the danger of dirty needles, that's not something most parents want young children to witness.

The lost lavatories have been put to a variety of intriguing uses ranging from flower shops to a recording studio.

Several have become cafes, including one Art Deco building in Old Steine, another in the Dials and a third on the seafront. They add to Brighton's variety and make the council money.

In France and many other continental countries, it has been accepted for years that you pay to pee. It is often hard to find a free public loo and you either have to put down cash or disappear into a cafe.

Much the same is happening here but most males and some females have become used to free pees and resent having to spend a penny.

Gone are the days when the council used to collect £10,000 in coppers every year from its loos. The result is that streets, especially in the centre, are awash with urine, particularly at night, which is highly unpleasant.

Brighton is a crowded resort and that popularity brings problems ranging from congested streets to tons of litter.

A level of loos that might be adequate in Milton Keynes is ludicrously low when half a million people are eating and drinking on a summer Sunday in the city.

There is a solution to the lack of lavatories and that is to insist that loos are provided by developers in all large city centre developments.

This is already done with public works of art and I am sure most practical people in the city would plump for a pee rather than a Pissarro.