Public toilets in Southend town centre where a man was found dead earlier this year closed today to keep the public safe - it has been described as a “magnet for crime and antisocial behaviour” after three people have died in the area in the last two years.

Hoardings are being put up around the site of the public toilets, in Pitmans Close, Southend, after being repeatedly used for crime, drug-taking, rough sleeping and antisocial behaviour.

The building will later be demolished and the site marketed for redevelopment.

There have been a number of problems at the toilets, which opened in 2004, with two men having died near to the toilets (the latest last monrth) - and one inside in March.

In May and June alone this year, specialist disposal teams from Veolia retrieved 631 items of drugs litter, such as needles and drugs wraps, from the blocks – an average of more than 10 a day. They also reported 80 incidents of rough-sleeping in the same period.

James Courtenay, deputy leader of Southend Council, said: “Southend has bucked a national trend by keeping toilets open and free to use at a time when other authorities are closing blocks and charging. Therefore, closing a toilet block is not a decision we would ever take lightly.

“But since opening in 2005, the Pitmans Close toilets have increasingly become a magnet for crime and antisocial behaviour and I believe this action is needed to keep people safe.

“It has now reached the point where people are more likely to use the toilets for unsavoury activities than they are to relieve themselves in. We simply cannot carry on like this.

“Our outreach partners have been working with rough sleepers who frequent the toilets and directing them to appropriate local support services, such as drug and alcohol services, hostel accommodation and places to wash and they shall continue to do so after their closure.”

In nearby Lucy Road, by the Seaways car park, the women’s toilets have also been closed following an arson attack that gutted the building on August 13.

It is not proposed to re-open the toilet as the buildings would be demolished as part of the proposed Seaways development. The men’s toilets are unaffected by the closure.