FRUSTRATED town council bosses were forced to close a public toilet after it was left "filthy" by a homeless man.

The public toilets at the Halstead Public Gardens on Kings Road have had to be temporarily closed so they can be cleaned.

It comes after Halstead Town Council banned the culprit in September due him not having “respect for the property he is using".

The council had received complaints due to the mess left in the public toilets by the man with one resident describing them as “filthy”.

According the council, the man had been using the toilets for washing but had left them messy and unclean.

Essex police were alerted and the man was subsequently banned.

But now the council says it has been forced to temporarily shut the toilets after the man breached his ban.

The council said the toilets were once again left in a mess and has now closed the toilets so they can be properly cleaned.

A spokesman for the council said: “You may know the culprit was arrested.

“In spite of the fact that we issued a banning order he has over the past few days been back to the toilets and started making a mess.

“They are currently closed while we clean up.”