Taxi driver was stuck in public toilets on the East Cliff
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/ ... ast-cliff/
Image: Bournemouth Echo
A TAXI driver who got stuck in a public toilet for an hour-and-a-half has said drivers need access to more facilities in Bournemouth town centre.
John Shave, 53, from Wallisdown, became trapped while using the public convenience at East Cliff at 11am on Tuesday morning.
He had stopped to use the male toilets. However, a sign on the door said the toilets were out of order.
John then decided to use the disabled cubicle after another person had left the toilet.
When he went to leave, he found he wasn’t able to able to open the door, which he hadn’t been able to lock as it had become jammed.
Fortunately, John had his mobile phone on him and was able to call the council who then sent two people out separately in an attempt to free him.
John said: “What my concern would be is if an elderly disabled person without a phone had been stuck instead.”
Neither of the council workers were able to open the door. A carpenter then had to be called.
The tradesman managed to free John by using a crowbar some 90 minutes after John had entered the toilet.
John said: “As taxi drivers, there just isn’t anywhere to go to the toilet.”
He said that it was becoming increasingly difficult for taxi drivers to find public facilities to use when operating in the town centre and it wasn’t always practical for drivers to go home, particularly when they lived outside of the town.
John said his wife, who arrived mid-way through the rescue, thought the incident was “hilarious”. Luckily, he said he'd also eventually seen the funny side.
Stuart Best, street services manager at Bournemouth council, said: “We apologise for any distress caused to the gentleman regarding this incident.
"The accessible cubicle is now open with a new lock and is accessed via a RADAR key.
"Unfortunately, both the male and female toilets are currently closed due to vandalism.
"We understand that this does inconvenience people and we are working closely with our colleagues in building maintenance to ensure that they are re-opened as soon as possible.”
